Miles McBride Emerges As Knicks’ Silver Lining

On a night they were haunted by the trey, the New York Knicks were at least partly saved by Deuce.

Miles “Deuce” McBride served as the Knicks’ most prominent silver lining in an opening night beatdown in Beantown, as the fourth-year depth star had 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting in a 132-109 defeat at the hands of the defending champion Boston Celtics.

“He’s a great worker and he continues to get better,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said in the aftermath in video from SNY. “He can score the ball in a lot of different ways. He’s very good off the dribble, very good at catch-and-shoot. He has improved.”

Though the Knicks’ most anticipated season in quite some time begins with a humiliating defeat, Tuesday had to provide at least some brand of vindication for McBride. Amidst the Knicks’ eventful offseason, which added backcourt depth stars like Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet, and rookie Tyler Kolek, McBride was often included in various mock trades as the season approached.

Tuesday helped partly support the Knicks’ decision to keep him, as he hit each of his firt six shots amidst the carnage. Well-regarded for his defense in his early years, McBride emerged as an unexpected scorer last season, averaging 8.3 points a game that more than doubled his prior career averaged. That helped the Knicks’ second unit keep up some semblance of scoring despite dealing the reliable Immanuel Quickley to Toronto in late December.

McBride, however, wasn’t willing to soak in any adoration after the game, lamenting the Knicks’ lost defense: Boston (1-0) flirted with history on Tuesday, tying the NBA record for most three-pointers in a single game at 29.

“I think it just comes down to effort on defense,” McBride said in video from SNY. “I feel like we could’ve just made more effort plays. I feel like our first effort was there, but the second and third has to get better.”

“Obviously, they’re a great team. That’s championship-level basketball,” McBride continued. “For us, it was a punch in the mouth and we got to respond. Obviously, it’s a long year, can’t overreact to one game but I don’t think that’s how you go into a year and set the tone. I think we’ve got to make sure we get together, figure out what we do next.”

The Knicks’ first opportunity to do so lands on Friday night when they host the Indiana Pacers in their 2024-25 home opener (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).

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