New York Knicks Uncomfortable With 'Weird' In-Season Tournament Tiebreaker?

A successful point differential pushed the New York Knicks forward in the In-Season Tournament, but some are questioning whether it was the proper method.

The New York Knicks played a literal numbers game on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

New York is moving onto the knockout stage of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, officially earning that entry with a 115-91 win over the Charlotte Hornets. With a 3-1 mark in its group play quartet, the Knicks (10-7) beat out four other three-win teams for the sole ticket afforded to second-place finishers thanks to a point differential of plus-42. 

The In-Season Tournament has yielded its share of dialogue in both professional and amateur NBA debate circles and the latest settles upon the tiebreaking format. Breaking ties in groups is relatively simple (head-to-head) but the first in the chase for the wild card is point differential, which is the seventh option to determine a difference in the regular season standings.

New York had a relatively healthy hold on the all-important margin entering Wednesday's game (plus-18). It even had an outside shot at winning its group (East Group B) but the Milwaukee Bucks' victory over the Miami Heat officially eliminated that possibility. 

Julius Randle (R) handles the ball during Tuesday's win over Charlotte / Vincent Carchietta, USA TODAY SPORTS

The Knicks seemed well on their way to handling business against the Hornets by jumping out to a 13-point advantage after the first quarter but Charlotte struck back in the middle stages, even getting as close as one point in the third period. While the lead was re-established, New York starters were kept in until almost the very end to further fortify it. The Knicks held a 35-25 advantage in the final period.

Forward Josh Hart, earner of a season-best 17 points, appeared to find the scoreboard inflation awkward.

“It was interesting. I didn’t really like it. We were just focused at first just about winning and then, I don’t know,” Hart said, per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “The last couple minutes, it feels weird. At a certain point, you have to start chasing points and doing all that stuff. So it just kind of messes with the integrity of the game a little bit."

“But I get it. We either go by points or play more games and we’ve got a long schedule. So it was interesting. It was very interesting.”

On paper, the Knicks were conventional favorites over the Hornets, especially after dealing Charlotte two losses in a seven-day span earlier this month. The Hornets were also without franchise face LaMelo Ball, who is out indefinitely due to an ankle injury. 

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau hinted that he was pleased at the one-sidedness of the victory, citing the Hornets' overtime victory over the Boston Celtics on Nov. 20 as a hint of how dangerous they can be.

“They’re a very good offensive team, and I watched their Boston game,” Thibodeau said of the Hornets, per Winfield. “They came back the same way. They put a lot of points up on the board in a short amount of time. They can downside and play small, spread you out, and then you got to respond to that. I thought we did.”

The Knicks' overzealousness was further exacerbated by the Celtics' one-sided victory over the Chicago Bulls. Boston, which entered Wednesday with an even point differential led by as much as 35 before settling at 124-97. The 27-point margin allowed the Celtics to steal their group from idle Orlando, which had already completed its slate at plus-22. 

Boston's blowout perhaps made things a little testy for the Knicks, but their outbursts in the end more or less sealed the deal. In the final wild card standings, the Knicks' final margin was 13 points ahead of their closest competitors from Cleveland, which crushed Atlanta 128-105. 

Like the Knicks, the Celtics kept their starters on the floor during the final stages of the game and took things a step further by intentionally fouling notoriously poor free-throw shooter Andre Drummond, gaining extra possessions and fruitless Chicago trips.

Neither tactic sat right with Billy Donovan, even though the embattled Bulls boss said that his Boston counterpart Joe Mazzulla explained to him why his team was fouling Drummond with a 30-point lead.

"I also understand the situation (Mazzulla) is in too. He's got to coach his team and do what's right," Donovan said, per ESPN. ''But I think it was putting Andre in a tough spot down 30 points. But this is from the league. This is what the league has done, making this point-differential thing.''

Jalen Brunson, Knicks Compete in NBA In-Season Tournament Knockout Round (Full Schedule)

Any minor moral quandaries can, apparently, be bought off: the Knicks now have a shot at the grand prize in Las Vegas, where each player on the victorious In-Season Tournament team will receive $500,000. 

Tuesday hero Julius Randle (25 points, 20 rebounds) was grateful for the opportunity earned, vowing to dedicate his cause to the lesser-salaried players on the end of the Knicks' bench.

“From a money standpoint, 500K is a lot to anybody. It’s a lot of money,” Randle said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "For the guys that are not making as much, it’s a big deal. We definitely want to win it for them. They put a lot into this.”

The Knicks' first knockout game lands on Dec. 5 when they face the Bucks in Milwaukee-based quarterfinal action. In the meantime, they'll close out a four-game homestand against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).