ROSE PARADE
Derrick, Knicks march toward playoffs with huge win over Clippers
Derrick Rose puts up a shot on his way to a team-high 25 points off the bench in the Knicks’ 106-100 road win over the powerhouse Clippers as they lowered their magic number to clinch a top-six playoff spot to two with four games remaining.
LOS ANGELES — The Knicks usually struggle when Julius Randle struggles. But not when Derrick Rose plays like an MVP — and not when they get 3-point marksmanship from Reggie Bullock.
In the final regular-season home game for the Clippers, the Knicks spoiled the Sundaymatinee party with a resounding and sensational 106-100 victory before 2,578 relatively passive fans at Staples Center.
The victory means the magic number to solidify a Top 6 finish and clinch their first playoff berth since 2013 is two. With four games to play, the Knicks (38-30) moved three games ahead of seventh-place Boston.
With the Celtics playing before them Tuesday night, the Knicks could take the court against the Lakers knowing a win would end the seven-year playoff drought and end any notion of being in the play-in event.
Coming off the bench for a struggling Elfrid Payton, Rose carried the Knicks on his shoulders with a spectacular first half. Rose finished with 25 points and eight assists in 31 minutes.
The Knicks fans on hand made their presence felt — making it as loud after a Knicks bucket as when the Clippers scored. The polite atmosphere was a far cry from the cauldron the Knicks faced in Phoenix on Friday when they played before an NBA season-high 8,063 fans and collapsed in the final period.
When Sunday’s game was over, Knicks president Leon Rose congratulated every player as they came off the court, then punched the air toward a throng of cheering Knicks fans.
“The heart of the team has been special,’’ a fired-up Tom Thibodeau said. “The challenge for us was to be hungry and don’t change now. We’re learning a lot from this trip and all season long as the season progressed. The toughness to win on the road and playing against these teams is telling us a lot.’’
Indeed, the Knicks were beaten handily by the Clippers at the Garden on Jan. 31, but that was before Derrick Rose’s arrival.
“The big thing is everybody has been doubting this team all along,’’ Thibodeau said. “We knew going on the trip we had been playing good basketball but we were going to have to take it up as the season ends.’’
In continuing his marvelous season as the Knicks startingshooting-guard-nobodyknows-about, Reggie Bullock, once a Clippers’ draft pick, poured in 24 points, making 5 of 11 3-pointers.
“He’s our unsung hero,’’ Thibodeau said.
Though he made three big baskets down the stretch, Randle finished with just 14 points, on 7 of 19 shooting, and committed four turnovers. He also had 14 rebounds. It showed the
Knicks could win even on a day Randle wasn’t dominant.
“It just shows our growth over the course of the year,’’ said Randle, who heard “M-V-P’’ chants late. “I think in the beginning of the year we thought we could compete with anybody as long as we stay to our principles and stay together as a team. And now we feel like we can beat anybody.’’
The Knicks assured themselves of a .500 trip on this six-game Western swing that was so feared. The Knicks —
3-2 on the trip — finish it off in the same arena versus the Lakers.
“We know in the fourth quarter the intensity is going to be different,’’ said RJ Barrett, who bounced back from his inbounds snafu in Phoenix to score 18 points with a big block late on Paul George. “Derrick Rose did a helluva job in the first half. Bullock, he stepped up huge all game. Ju’ wasn’t shooting it well all night, then he comes up clutch with big shots at the end. Collectively as a unit, we did a great job.’’