<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/new-york-knicks/sources-knicks-eye-2-western-conference-guards-trade-opens');   ga('set', 'title', 'Sources: Knicks have eyes on 2 Western Conference guards as trade season opens');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Knicks-have-eyes-on-two-Western-Conference-guards-as-trade-season-opens-.jpg"></figure><h1>Sources: Knicks have eyes on 2 Western Conference guards as trade season opens</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-12T10:01:54-08:00">December 12th, 10:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-12T10:01:54-08:00">December 12th, 10:01am</time><address><a>Kris Pursiainen</a>Kris Pursiainen is an Associate Editor for all sports based in the NJ/NYC area. Kris brings several years of experience reporting on and writing about professional teams to the table. With experience all over the country as a New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Mets, Super Bowl LVIII, and Big East beat reporter, Kris has been breaking news and reporting on the NBA, NFL, MLB, and college basketball landscapes for years. Kris is a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Exclusive</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>December 15 marks the date when most players who signed fresh contracts during the offseason become <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/sources-knicks-offseason-giannis-trade-bucks-kyle-kuzma-wrinkle" rel="noopener">eligible to be traded</a>. New York Knicks veterans Jordan Clarkson, Landry Shamet, and Guerschon Yabusele will no longer have restrictions on their trade status.</p><p>League sources tell ClutchPoints that the Knicks have had exploratory discussions with two Western Conference teams about potential trades, with New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo at the center of various proposals.</p><p>The Pelicans are off to a 4-22 start, with seventh-overall pick Jeremiah Fears getting comfortable as a starter and offseason acquisition Jordan Poole leading their bench. Once Dejounte Murray returns from the torn Achilles that has sidelined him thus far, Alvarado might be too luxurious a fourth-string guard for team governorship.</p><p>A move for Alvarado, reportedly making $4.5 million this season, would not have to hamstring <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/mike-brown-key-lesson-jordan-clarkson-guitar-solo-style">the Knicks’ cap sheet</a>. A reunion with DiVincenzo, however, would be more complicated. His salary of almost $12 million necessitates New York trading away a package of more than just young players or recently-eligible veterans.</p><h2>Why would the Timberwolves move DiVincenzo?</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/sources-knicks-eyes-two-western-guards-trade-season.jpg"><figcaption>John Jones-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>New York’s interest in a reunion with its Villanova-educated playoff hero dates back to last season, when the team <a href="https://x.com/krispursiainen/status/1935740928293032376" rel="noopener">had some internal discussions</a> about re-acquiring DiVincenzo. The sharpshooter played one season with the Knicks, setting franchise records for 3-pointers made in both a single game and season in that time.</p><p>Bringing the 3-point specialist back to Madison Square Garden, where he had a career year, could make sense for both sides. The Timberwolves, however, would need to agree to any trade bringing the Wildcats back together. One source familiar with the situation told ClutchPoints that Minnesota sent New York’s front office several trade proposals, but that the sides did not come close to any agreement.</p><p>The Timberwolves are said to have some interest in the protected first-round pick the Knicks are owed by the Washington Wizards, according to league sources. That pick is protected if it ends up being any of the draft’s first eight selections. However, the daunting second apron has made assets like these increasingly desirable as teams look for any way possible to duck severe tax penalties.</p><p>The Knicks are best off waiting about two weeks to make any trades <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crB4IN5xNZY" rel="noopener">for similar reasons</a>, per Knicks Film School’s Jeremy Cohen. Whether they make any moves or not comes down to their front office, led by team president Leon Rose. Amid a 17-7 start to the season, New York is in no imminent rush to strike a deal or make a star appear out of thin air.</p><p>If they think a trade is necessary for their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-mike-browns-regular-season-why-fired-thibodeau">playoff push</a>, though, they still have some assets left to work with. Any changes will have to come before the February 5 trade deadline.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Sources: Knicks have eyes on 2 Western Conference guards as trade season opens

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-chris-paul-timberwolves-rockets-knicks-trade-buzz-heats-up');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Chris Paul linked to Timberwolves, Rockets, Knicks as trade buzz heats up');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Clippers-great-Chris-Paul-.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Chris Paul linked to Timberwolves, Rockets, Knicks as trade buzz heats up</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-11T14:10:12-08:00">December 11th, 2:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-11T15:08:03-08:00">December 11th, 3:08pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-chris-paul-scarred-l-a-situation-not-ruling-out-joining-new-team">Clippers can’t move Chris Paul until Dec. 15</a>, when he is trade-eligible, and there seem to be some teams that have interest in him. Though this is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-chris-paul-nba-history-retirement-announcement">Paul’s last season in the league</a>, he has shown that he still has some value on a contending team, and there are <a href="https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1djGXWOawRVKZ" rel="noopener">three specific teams</a> that could look to add him, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.</p><p>“There has been some interest in him from some teams who expressed interest in him during the offseason,” Siegel said. “Some other teams have point guard needs and I wouldn’t be shocked if how we were last year and Dennis Schroder was traded to the Warriors, I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw something similar this year with Chris Paul where he winds up going to a contender where he contribute whether that’s in the starting lineup or off the bench with 15 to 18 minutes a game.</p><p>“If he wants to go to a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Houston Rockets, two teams that have been rumored to have a level of interest in Chris Paul… Another one that had interest in him over the offseason that I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re interested in him again is the New York Knicks.”</p><p>Paul would be a nice addition to any three of those teams, but there’s a chance that he would not be a starter in those situations. The Rockets would be the one team where he could have the chance to start, and with not much depth at the guard position, he would get some key minutes.</p><p>To end his career, Paul wanted the chance to stay close to family, but at this point, he will have to sacrifice that dream a little bit and broaden his horizons if he wants to play in his final season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Chris Paul linked to Timberwolves, Rockets, Knicks as trade buzz heats up

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-josh-hart-smile-3-jalen-brunson');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Josh Hart should be cast in Smile 3 after hilariously creeping out Jalen Brunson');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Jalen-Brunson-and-Josh-Hart.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images.</figcaption></figure><h1>Knicks’ Josh Hart should be cast in Smile 3 after hilariously creeping out Jalen Brunson</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-10T10:06:00-08:00">December 10th, 10:06am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-11T09:01:58-08:00">December 11th, 9:01am</time><address><a>Andrew Korpan</a>Andrew Korpan is the lead entertainment editor and film critic for ClutchPoints. He's also an award-winning author and Ken Jeong's best friend.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Entertainment</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Perhaps Hollywood is calling <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-josh-hart-new-york-guard-flowers-defeating-hornets">New York Knicks star Josh Hart</a>‘s name after his recent audition for Smile 3 during a postgame moment <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-fires-back-raptors-fan-flopping">with guard Jalen Brunson</a>.</p><p>As Brunson was being asked about the Knicks’ offensive outlook since Hart joined the starting lineup, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-josh-hart-cardio-joke-minutes-champion-award">the former Minutes Champion</a> stood by his locker, smiling.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Josh Hart was loving every moment of Jalen Brunson’s interview when asked about him 😂</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottCampsall?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ScottCampsall</a>)<a href="https://t.co/Gb4IpkwRLk">pic.twitter.com/Gb4IpkwRLk</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1998633842056519909?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Hart did not break eye contact with Brunson, causing the star guard to stumble in his answer, especially as he was complimenting his teammate.</p><p>Smile 2 brought a pop star into the equation, so perhaps the inevitable Smile 3 could follow a basketball player like Hart, who seems perfect for the role.</p><h2><b>Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart’s Knicks are rolling after 4th straight win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Hart-and-Brunson.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Knicks have won four games in a row, most recently beating the Toronto Raptors 117-101 in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup. Brunson has played in 22 of 24 games, starting all of them. Meanwhile, Hart has only started in nine of the 23 games he has played in.</p><p>Luckily, they have both seen a decrease in the number of minutes they’re playing per game. Brunson averaged 35.4 minutes per game during the 2024-25 season. Through 24 games, Brunson is averaging 34.9 minutes per game.</p><p>Hart has seen a more drastic decrease. He is a high-intensity player, grabbing a lot of rebounds for a guard. So far, Hart is averaging 29.7 minutes per game, a large decrease from his 37.6 minutes per game last year.</p><p>The Knicks made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2024-25 season. However, they were beaten by the Indiana Pacers in six games.</p><p>They had beaten the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. If they had won, they would have faced the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. The Pacers gave them a good fight, but they lost the series in seven games.</p><p>The Knicks will next play the Orlando Magic on Saturday, Dec. 13. Their game will be broadcast on Prime Video. The Magic are currently 15-10.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Josh Hart should be cast in Smile 3 after hilariously creeping out Jalen Brunson

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-fires-back-raptors-fan-flopping');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Jalen Brunson fires back at courtside Raptors fan’s flopping allegations');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Knicks-star-Jalen-Brunson-vs-Raptors.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Knicks’ Jalen Brunson fires back at courtside Raptors fan’s flopping allegations</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-10T07:20:40-08:00">December 10th, 7:20am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-10T07:20:40-08:00">December 10th, 7:20am</time><address><a>Yasmin Edañol</a>Yasmin D.G. Edañol is a PhD candidate in Chemistry at the University of the Philippines Diliman, with a background in scientific research and publishing. He brings a data-driven perspective to sports storytelling as an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints, with a focus on the NBA. Whether it's breaking down a clutch play or a stat line, he believes every great moment has a deeper layer waiting to be uncovered.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks moved with purpose on Tuesday night, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-wholesome-banter-udonis-haslem-raptors">pushing past the Toronto Raptors and seizing control of the moment</a> as the NBA Cup pressure rose. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-response-vegas-gambling-question">Along the way, Jalen Brunson stole the show</a>, even turning a loud Raptors fan into part of the story. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-darko-rajakovic-jakob-poeltl-recapture-rhythm">Knicks won 117–101, eliminating the Raptors</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-karl-anthony-towns-denies-scottie-barnes-textbook-block">advancing to the NBA Cup semifinals for the first time</a>. Brunson carried the moment. He scored 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting, hit six threes, and controlled every possession in the hostile Scotiabank arena in Toronto.</p><p>The <a href="https://x.com/MrBuckBuckNBA/status/1998754843956248846" rel="noopener">exchange</a> with the Raptors fan became the spark. During the first quarter, after a whistle, the fan yelled, “That’s a flop.” Brunson turned, calm but sharp, and replied, “Why you harassing me?” He then pointed to the jumbotron as the replay confirmed the call. And from there, Brunson kept cooking.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jalen Brunson: “Why you harassing me?”  </p><p>Fan: “That’s a flop”  </p><p>JB: “That’s a foul. Just playing by the rules”  </p><p>Fan: “Don’t flop my boy. Stop flopping”  </p><p>JB (points to replay on jumbotron)<a href="https://t.co/9rxot4UELK">pic.twitter.com/9rxot4UELK</a></p><p>— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrBuckBuckNBA/status/1998754843956248846?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2>Knicks reach new ground as Jalen Brunson sets the tone</h2><p>This was the Knicks at their most direct. They defended, ran, and played with confidence. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-unconscious-jalen-brunson-1st-quarter-has-ny-fans-going-wild">And from the start, they trusted Brunson to set the pace</a>, and he delivered by slicing through the Raptors’ coverage and punishing every late rotation. His efficiency kept pressure high. His poise kept the night stable. By halftime, New York led 69–52, and from that point on, the Raptors never came close again.</p><p>Even as Toronto tried to push back, New York answered each attempt. The Raptors struggled to contain the Knicks’ spacing and ball movement, and by the fourth quarter, frustration showed. Meanwhile, the Raptors fan incident only magnified the tension, serving as a reminder of how quickly emotions can tilt in a knockout environment.</p><p>Now, the Knicks turn to the semifinals. They face the Orlando Magic on December 13 after Orlando eliminated the Miami Heat. With that, New York steps into fresh ground and a real shot at making history. And with Brunson playing like this, who knows how far the Knicks can climb?</p><p>So the question for every New York fan now is simple: are the Knicks just getting started in this NBA Cup run?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Jalen Brunson fires back at courtside Raptors fan’s flopping allegations

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-wholesome-banter-udonis-haslem-raptors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Jalen Brunson has wholesome banter with three-time NBA champion after beating Raptors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Jalen-Brunson-has-wholesome-banter-with-three-time-NBA-champion-after-beating-Raptors.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Knicks’ Jalen Brunson has wholesome banter with three-time NBA champion after beating Raptors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-09T23:09:08-08:00">December 9th, 11:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-09T23:09:08-08:00">December 9th, 11:09pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a>Paolo Mariano is a freelance writer, editor, and producer based in Manila, Philippines. He is a journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas and the father of a young girl whose personality swings from Simone Biles to Dillon Brooks. A beacon of objectivity, he believes Penny Hardaway is the true NBA GOAT.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Miami Heat</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks are through to the semifinals of the NBA Cup after routing the Toronto Raptors, 117-101, in the quarterfinals at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.</p><p>The Knicks will face the Orlando Magic in Las Vegas on Saturday. The Magic beat the Miami Heat, 117-108, to advance to the next round.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-response-vegas-gambling-question">Jalen Brunson carried New York anew</a> with a game-high 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting, including 6-of-9 from deep. He also had three rebounds and four steals.</p><p>After the win, he was interviewed on “NBA on Prime,” with Udonis Haslem asking him about a specific play wherein Mikal Bridges “ran all the way around the baseline” before getting the pass from Brunson. Haslem claimed that he hadn’t seen that since the Heat battled with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals a few years ago.</p><p>Brunson’s <a href="https://x.com/NBA/status/1998617956222116137" rel="noopener">candid response</a> caught Haslem off guard.</p><p>“When did you retire?” asked Brunson, eliciting a laugh from the three-time champion.</p><p>“You guys knocked us out of the playoffs two years ago. You guys were running that. So what are you talking about you haven’t seen that since the Spurs? You guys were running that with Max Strus.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"You guys knocked us out of the playoffs…"</p><p>This moment between <a href="https://twitter.com/jalenbrunson1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jalenbrunson1</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisIsUD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ThisIsUD</a> reminiscing about the last time they faced off in the postseason 😆 <a href="https://t.co/5u3bnQ0qYp">pic.twitter.com/5u3bnQ0qYp</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1998617956222116137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The 45-year-old Haslem had to agree after Brunson refreshed his memory.</p><p>“Yeah, you’re right. Max did that a couple of years ago,” replied Haslem.</p><p>While it was a wholesome moment, it also showed <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-karl-anthony-towns-jalen-brunson-flowers-win-hornets">the high basketball IQ of Brunson</a>. The fact that he didn’t forget a play ran by the opposing team from two years ago spoke volumes about his mental sharpness.</p><p>Maybe next time, Brunson can remind Haslem how he once dropped 38 points on the Heat in the playoffs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Jalen Brunson has wholesome banter with three-time NBA champion after beating Raptors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-response-vegas-gambling-question');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Jalen Brunson has perfect response to Vegas gambling question');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Jalen-Brunson-has-perfect-response-to-Vegas-gambling-question.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Knicks’ Jalen Brunson has perfect response to Vegas gambling question</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-09T22:04:00-08:00">December 9th, 10:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-09T22:04:00-08:00">December 9th, 10:04pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor, NFL and NCAA Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks have been one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference all season long, and they proved it once again on Tuesday night. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-karl-anthony-towns-denies-scottie-barnes-textbook-block">Going on the road was no problem for the Knicks</a> in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, as they went up north and comfortably beat the Toronto Raptors 117-101 to advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas.</p><p>The Knicks will take on the Orlando Magic in the semis after Orlando took down the Miami Heat in the first quarterfinal on Tuesday night. The two teams will head to Vegas for Saturday night’s doubleheader.</p><p>Of course, it’s only natural to associate gambling with Las Vegas, which is a bit of a touchy subject in the NBA. Knicks star Jalen Brunson <a href="https://x.com/ohnohedidnt24/status/1998609269131034900?s=20" rel="noopener">kept it lighthearted</a> when asked about his game of choice after the game on Tuesday.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jalen Brunson on his favorite Vegas game:</p><p>"I don't gamble. Probably shouldn't say anything about gambling"<a href="https://t.co/lqi9GJMDFP">pic.twitter.com/lqi9GJMDFP</a></p><p>— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) <a href="https://twitter.com/ohnohedidnt24/status/1998609269131034900?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I don’t gamble,” Brunson said with a smile. “It’s probably a good thing I don’t gamble, right? Probably shouldn’t say anything about gambling.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-unconscious-jalen-brunson-1st-quarter-has-ny-fans-going-wild">Brunson had a monster game</a> in the quarterfinal victory, dropping 35 points on a very efficient 13-for-19 shooting while splashing home six 3-pointers in 39 minutes. The Raptors, despite being loaded with a number of talented, long defenders, had no answers for the star point guard, and are out of the NBA Cup as a result.</p><p>Brunson will have his hands full in the semifinal against the Magic, as Jalen Suggs is one of the best perimeter defenders in basketball. However, the Villanova product has earned the benefit of the doubt and has proven he can put up big numbers on anybody when he’s on his game.</p><p>Wednesday night’s NBA Cup quarterfinals will feature the Phoenix Suns against the 23-1 Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs against the Los Angeles Lakers, with the winners playing a semifinal on Saturday in Las Vegas.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Jalen Brunson has perfect response to Vegas gambling question

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-karl-anthony-towns-denies-scottie-barnes-textbook-block');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns denies Scottie Barnes with textbook block');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Knicks-All-Star-Karl-Anthony-Towns.jpg"><figcaption>Benny Sieu-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns denies Scottie Barnes with textbook block</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-09T19:38:31-08:00">December 9th, 7:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-09T19:45:54-08:00">December 9th, 7:45pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Karl-Anthony Towns missed Sunday’s 106-100 win over the Orlando Magic due to left calf tightness, but he looks just fine in Tuesday’s NBA Cup clash with the Toronto Raptors. He left a big imprint in Scotiabank Arena during the first half of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-unconscious-jalen-brunson-1st-quarter-has-ny-fans-going-wild">this quarterfinals matchup</a>, producing a couple of thunderous moments that should remind everyone of the star center’s ferocious power.</p><p>Towns completely dominated Scottie Barnes on a drive in the second quarter. He posted <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1998583110774997163" rel="noopener">a clean block</a> that surely humbled the Raptors pillar. The three-time All-NBA Third-Team selection was not done unleashing his strength, as he then came rumbling down the lane for <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1998585017283510585" rel="noopener">a monster dunk</a> only a few minutes later. When he makes an impact on both ends of the floor, the Knicks should be able to beat any squad in the Eastern Conference.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Karl-Anthony Towns with the REJECTION on Scottie Barnes 😤👀</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/PTns31qbNU">pic.twitter.com/PTns31qbNU</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1998583110774997163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">All the angles of KAT's MONSTROUS slam 👀</p><p>What a play by Towns!<a href="https://t.co/b4ppAXnlKN">pic.twitter.com/b4ppAXnlKN</a> <a href="https://t.co/HszUpFdPZ7">https://t.co/HszUpFdPZ7</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1998585017283510585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Fans, media members and even former players have been known to label the 30-year-old big man as “soft” throughout his career, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-karl-anthony-towns-soft-label-put-on-blast">but he can bring the fire</a>. New York probably needs him to maintain this level of intensity if it is going to reach the NBA Finals this season. Although his production is down from the 2024-25 campaign, Towns is still serving a large role on what is currently the second-place team in the East.</p><p>He is scoring 22.5 points on 46.7 percent shooting from the field and 35.3 percent shooting from behind the 3-point line, while also averaging 11.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists through 22 games this season. No. 32 already has a double-double through three quarters versus Toronto, doing his part to boost New York closer to the NBA Cup. The Knicks (16-7) have a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter at time of print.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns denies Scottie Barnes with textbook block

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-unconscious-jalen-brunson-1st-quarter-has-ny-fans-going-wild');   ga('set', 'title', 'Unconscious Jalen Brunson 1st quarter has Knicks fans going wild');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Knicks-guard-Jalen-Brunson-11-looks-to-drive.jpg"><figcaption>© Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Unconscious Jalen Brunson 1st quarter has Knicks fans going wild</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-09T18:45:41-08:00">December 9th, 6:45pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-09T18:45:41-08:00">December 9th, 6:45pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-cup-2025-schedule-predictions-knockout-stage">New York Knicks have remarkably been one of the most consistent teams</a> throughout NBA Cup history, as they have advanced to the knockout stage in all three seasons of the tournament. On Tuesday night, the Knicks set out to advance to their third-consecutive trip to Vegas as well, with the upstart Toronto Raptors standing in their way.</p><p>While the NBA Cup isn’t the most prestigious trophy to win out there, the monetary incentives that trickle down to even the end of bench players have made it so that everyone is locked in and has their eyes on the prize. Jalen Brunson certainly brought his A-game against the Raptors; the Knicks star poured 20 points in the first quarter alone as he and Brandon Ingram dueled for first-quarter supremacy.</p><p>The Knicks ended up trailing to end the quarter, 39-35. But if it weren’t for Brunson, that deficit would have been much worse. As a result, fans lauded the Knicks star for coming out of the gates firing.</p><p>“So this about to be a Brunson vs Brandon Ingram game huh I got OUR CAPTAIN,” X user @EverythinKnicks <a href="https://x.com/EverythinKnicks/status/1998580645866430815" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.</p><p>“Jalen Brunson going for a 40 piece extra gravyyyyyyy,” @YappinYassss <a href="https://x.com/YappinYassss/status/1998580388583678081" rel="noopener">added</a>.</p><p>“I had a Brunson burner in Chemistry Lab. I’ll see myself out. ✌️” @Spamfan59 <a href="https://x.com/Spamfan59/status/1998578717904318902" rel="noopener">joked</a>.</p><p>“Brunson has 20 points in the first quarter. He may finish with 80. That’s a lot,” @MikeSgroi21 <a href="https://x.com/MikeSgroi21/status/1998578679782264896" rel="noopener">furthered</a>.</p><h2><b>Knicks look to get over the NBA Cup hump</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/New-York-Knicks-forward-Karl-Anthony-Towns-32.jpg"><figcaption>Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>If there was ever a year for the Knicks to advance to the NBA Cup final, it’s this one. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/magic-news-make-last-minute-change-nba-cup-court-damaged">The Orlando Magic are already in the semifinal</a>, awaiting the winner of the Knicks-Raptors clash, and they’re without Franz Wagner — giving New York the advantage in that matchup if they take care of business against the Raptors.</p><p>While the overall favorite for the competition is still the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Knicks at least have their greatest opportunity to win the tournament in front of them. Can they capitalize?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Unconscious Jalen Brunson 1st quarter has Knicks fans going wild

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/new-york-knicks/is-karl-anthony-towns-playing-tonight-knicks-raptors-nba-cup-injury-report');   ga('set', 'title', 'Is Karl-Anthony Towns playing tonight? Knicks vs. Raptors NBA Cup injury report');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Towns-celebrates.jpg"><figcaption>Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Is Karl-Anthony Towns playing tonight? Knicks vs. Raptors NBA Cup injury report</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-09T08:44:24-08:00">December 9th, 8:44am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-09T08:44:24-08:00">December 9th, 8:44am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University alum from Atlanta who graduated with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Tuesday evening, the<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-rj-barrett-miss-nba-cup-game-knicks-knee-injection"> New York Knicks will hit</a> the road to take on the Toronto Raptors in the knockout round of the NBA Cup, with the winner moving on to Las Vegas this weekend. Big man <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/knicks-news-reserves-flash-karl-anthony-towns-absence-magic">Karl-Anthony Towns is on</a> the injury report for the Knicks, currently listed as questionable with left calf tightness. Here’s everything we know about Towns’ injury and his playing status vs the Raptors.</p><p><b><i>*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (</i></b><a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener"><b><i>Get Access | Save $30</i></b></a><i>)</i><b><i>*</i></b></p><h2><b>Karl-Anthony Towns’ playing status vs the Raptors</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/New-York-Knicks-forward-Karl-Anthony-Towns-32.jpg"><figcaption>Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Given <a href="https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/injury/Injury-Report_2025-12-09_10AM.pdf" rel="noopener">his questionable designation</a> on the injury report, there is currently some doubt as to whether or not Towns will be able to suit up for the Knicks’ game against the Raptors on Tuesday evening. Joining Towns on the New York injury report is point guard Miles McBride, who will miss the contest with an ankle sprain, and Landry Shamet, who remains out with a shoulder sprain.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Raptors will be without former Knicks wing RJ Barrett for this contest, while point guard Jamal Shead is questionable with a right quad contusion.</p><p>Overall, this matchup figures to be an intriguing one between what have been two of the better teams in the Eastern Conference this season. The Knicks have been hot of late, but overall have struggled to stack up wins away from Madison Square Garden this year. Meanwhile, the Raptors started out the season on fire but have since crashed back down to Earth over the last couple weeks.</p><p>As previously mentioned, the winner of this game will move on to Las Vegas to compete in the Final Four of the third annual NBA Cup. Last year’s winner, the Milwaukee Bucks, are no longer in the picture, so the tournament will be looking at its third different winner in three years this season.</p><p>The Knicks and Raptors will tip off at 7:30 pm ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Is Karl-Anthony Towns playing tonight? Knicks vs. Raptors NBA Cup injury report

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/knicks-news-reserves-flash-karl-anthony-towns-absence-magic');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks reserves flash potential in Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence vs. Magic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Move-over-Willis-Reed-Bob-McAdoo-you-have-company-with-KAT.jpg"><figcaption>© Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Knicks reserves flash potential in Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence vs. Magic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-08T15:44:28-08:00">December 8th, 3:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-08T15:44:28-08:00">December 8th, 3:44pm</time><address><a>Drew Maresca</a>Drew Maresca is a NY-area writer and researcher who has covered the NBA for more than 5 years. Prior to joining ClutchPoints to cover the New York Knicks, Drew wrote for Basketball News and Basketball Insiders. Drew has conducted interviews inside NBA locker rooms including Madison Square Garden, the Barclays Center, and the Kia Center, and he covered the 2019 NBA Draft in-person from Brooklyn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-news-og-anunobys-word-mic-drop-desmond-bane-chucking-ball-him">New York Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic on Sunday</a> 106-100. That’s significant because of the stature of the Magic. It’s also significant because it was done without Karl-Anthony Towns. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/mike-brown-puts-karl-anthony-towns-knicks-on-blast-after-celtics-loss">Knicks’ coach Mike Brown is critical of Towns</a> when he doesn’t show up or gets distracted—but that’s because of the impact he can have when properly locked in. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/knicks-jalen-brunson-karl-anthony-towns-ny-all-star-history">Towns in undoubtedly an All-Star</a>. Thus, getting a win against a playoff-bound opponent without him is worth celebrating. And the team’s reserves deserve much of the credit, especially their reserve big men.</p><p>The Knicks are relatively thin at the center position. They are even more hindered than meets the eye when you consider how careful they are with Mitchell Robinson —their only other center with any tangible experience (other than Towns). Ariel Hukporti has shown flashes. But he’s appeared in only 40 games across the past two seasons.</p><p>Granted, the Knicks have gotten by without Towns, barely. They are 5-5 over their last 10 games without the seven-footer, which dates back to December 2024. But Sunday was the first time he’s sat out this season. Thankfully, the team’s center rotation stepped up in a big way.</p><h2><b>Knicks center rotation stepped up in Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence</b></h2><p>Unsurprisingly, Robinson led the way in the front court. While he’s not a full-time reserve, he needed to do a little more given Towns’s absence. And that didn’t seem to be a problem.</p><p>Robinson was incredible. Most importantly, he proved a good amount to his doubters wrong, playing a season-high 24:35 minutes. And he still had his typical impact despite extended minutes, 13 rebounds—eight of which were offensive—one steal, and one block. That’s incredibly solid work, especially given the slightly heavier-than-normal workload. And enough can’t be said about Robinson’s work on the offensive glass. It’s historically great.</p><p>The Knicks’ reserve bigs were about more than just Robinson, though. Ariel Hukporti did his part and then some. He tallied six points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and three blocks in 23 minutes. Hukporti also went 4-4 from the free-throw line, which is a major relief considering Robinson’s struggles from the charity stripe.</p><p>Guerschon Yabusele also chipped in eight points and two rebounds in 11 minutes. Yabusele’s value stems from his ability to stretch the floor, which is dramatically different than that of Robinson or Hukporti. He converted two of his three 3-point attempts, which provides good floor spacing for the Knicks when he’s on the court.</p><p>While none of them, other than Robinson, did anything to write home about, the sum of the parts is considerable. They combined to form a formidable front court that was missing its best player. And they spearheaded the Knicks out-rebounding the gritty Magic 52-48—without the league’s second-leading rebounder. That’s meaningful progress in an area that needed attention.</p><h2><b>Knicks front office depth a sign of things to come?</b></h2><p>Granted, the New York big men did what most winning front courts do. They rebounded and defended. But a Towns-less Knicks team is unpredictable at best, with its front court usually struggling to convert free throws and remain out of foul trouble. That was not the case on Sunday. And while the Knicks’ front-court reserves have looked mostly untrustworthy this season, they looked unusually comfortable against the Magic.</p><p>Sunday could become a common occurrence with Robinson, Hukporti, and Yabusele all contributing regularly. Maybe Brown has found a sweet spot for Robinson’s minutes. Maybe Hukporti has figured out how to have an impact. And maybe Yabusele is rounding into form. Whatever it is, it worked. And that type of output, especially with Towns back and playing well, can be a differentiator. It provides Brown with significantly more options, picking and choosing front-court pairings.</p><p>Backup center was a position the Knicks had to address, considering their commitment to being careful with Robinson and his complicated injury history. But they might not have to act as urgently now, given how their reserves just played. Of course, the Knicks front office would prefer to base decisions that could impact their 2025-26 championship aspirations on more information, but their front-court reserves provided a glimmer of hope. That’s at least worth a closer look. And maybe it ends up being enough.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks reserves flash potential in Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence vs. Magic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-rj-barrett-miss-nba-cup-game-knicks-knee-injection');   ga('set', 'title', 'RJ Barrett to miss Raptors’ NBA Cup game vs. Knicks after knee injection');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Raptors-forward-RJ-Barrett.jpg"><figcaption>Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>RJ Barrett to miss Raptors’ NBA Cup game vs. Knicks after knee injection</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-08T12:23:01-08:00">December 8th, 12:23pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-08T12:23:01-08:00">December 8th, 12:23pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Amidst Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett’s recovery from a sprained right knee injury, he underwent a knee injection, extending the timetable for his return beyond Tuesday’s NBA Cup quarter-final against the New York Knicks. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-immanuel-quickley-100-real-rj-barrett-injury-absence">The Raptors have missed Barrett’s offensive production</a>, as Immanuel Quickley discussed recently. Toronto has lost five of its last six games.</p><p>Barrett <a href="https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1998092612650357067" rel="noopener">received an injection</a> in his right knee, and his condition will be updated soon, as ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel reported.</p><p>“The Raptors say RJ Barrett, who has been dealing with a right knee sprain, continues to progress,” Siegel reported. “He has been treated with a platelet-rich plasma injection, and his condition will be updated in a week.”</p><p>Toronto lost to the Celtics 121-113 on Sunday. Brandon Ingram’s 30 points led seven Raptors in double figures, including Scottie Barnes (18 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists), who flirted with a triple-double, and Sando Mamukelashvili (14 points).</p><p>Barrett is ruled out for Tuesday’s NBA Cup quarter-final game against the Knicks.</p><h2><b>Scottie Barnes on Raptors missing RJ Barrett</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Raptors-Scottie-Barnes-RJ-Barrett.jpg"><figcaption>Bill Streicher-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Immanuel Quickly wasn’t the only Raptors teammate who talked about missing RJ Barrett. Raptors forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-scottie-barnes-opens-up-life-without-rj-barrett">Scottie Barnes knows his team misses Barrett’s production</a>.</p><p>Barnes talked about the Raptors <a href="https://twitter.com/OmerOsman200/status/1996072816857546777" rel="noopener">adjusting to playing without</a> Barrett, per Raptors reporter Omer Osman.</p><p>“I don’t know how it affected by role, but we miss him out there. The stuff that he does for our team with attacking the rim, being able to get out in transition, and leading the fast break. His catch-and-shoot is tremendous. He brings so much to the game. Of course, we miss him out there,” Barnes said.</p><p>Barrett is averaging 19.4 points on 50.6% shooting, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists this season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

RJ Barrett to miss Raptors’ NBA Cup game vs. Knicks after knee injection

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/new-york-knicks/nba-rumors-knicks-viewed-giannis-antetokounmpos-top-trade-destination');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks still viewed as Giannis Antetokounmpo’s top trade destination after summer ‘temptation’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Milwaukee-Bucks-forward-Giannis-Antetokounmpo-34-reacts.jpg"><figcaption>© Benny Sieu-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks still viewed as Giannis Antetokounmpo’s top trade destination after summer ‘temptation’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-08T06:38:46-08:00">December 8th, 6:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-08T06:38:46-08:00">December 8th, 6:38am</time><address><a href="https://linktr.ee/colinloughran">Colin Loughran</a>Colin Loughran is a NYC-based Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He has spent several years covering sports and has worked for outlets such as the New York Post, AP Radio, and FanSided. Colin is also a three-time NYSBA award winner and a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Milwaukee Bucks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks have been able to build a competitive team with legitimate championship aspirations, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/should-knicks-go-all-in-giannis-antetokounmpo-hits-trade-market">Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo appears to be interested in joining the cause,</a> as well as embracing all that the Big Apple has to offer.</p><p>There has been considerable speculation about Giannis’ <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/sunday-best-the-nba-trade-topic-that?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=180976913&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">future</a> over the past few weeks. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/sources-knicks-offseason-giannis-trade-bucks-kyle-kuzma-wrinkle">the Knicks have been on the former MVP’s mind.</a></p><p>“It’s true: There’s a strong belief leaguewide that Antetokounmpo desires one destination above all the rest in the event that he actually does fully ask out someday.<br>New York,” Fischer wrote.</p><p>“After some further calls, I can confirm that the Knicks — as well as playing in Madison Square Garden — were the specific “temptation” that Giannis himself publicly acknowledged on Bucks Media Day as an outcome he pondered during the summer. I’ve even heard that the rowdy fanbase gatherings outside the arena following playoff victories that the Knicks are known for have resonated given his natural fondness for the emotionally charged support so prevalent for basketball and soccer clubs throughout Europe. The wait for a championship at MSG, of course, has now stretched longer than Milwaukee’s own 50-year title drought that the Antetokounmpo-led Bucks brought to a halt in July 2021.”</p><p>Giannis is currently sidelined due to a right calf strain that he suffered earlier this month, and the Bucks are just 10-15 on the season. Across 17 games this season, the 2021 NBA Finals MVP has averaged 28.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 6.1 assists.</p><p>This latest report comes following Giannis’ offseason comments on potentially being traded to another team.</p><p>“It’s like temptation, you know? Like when you’re going through the amusement park, and you’re not wearing your wedding ring like me now, and people are looking at you like, ‘Oh, he’s kind of handsome. Oh, temptation. That starts when the season ends until the season begins,” Antetokounmpo said. “There’s going to be a lot of people that are going to approach me or my agents and say, ‘Hey, this is a possibility. That’s a possibility.’ But at the end of the day, I’m going to make a decision. My decision today is that I’m here, and I’m committed to<br>this team.”</p><p>Fans and pundits will be watching Giannis’ situation with the Bucks unfold, and the Knicks are largely considered the favorites to acquire him in a potential trade.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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Knicks News: Get the latest New York Knicks news, scores, stats, standings, fantasy games, and more from ClutchPoints.

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Sources: Knicks have eyes on 2 Western Conference guards as trade season opens

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