Struggling Knox looking to build off solid performance

MILWAUKEE — Panic had started surfacing around Kevin Knox and his future. The former Kentucky star and 2018 lottery pick was regressing and experiencing a mysteriously quiet funk.

It was just one afternoon but the Knox everyone hoped he would look like this season reappeared in Sunday’s Garden matinee.

After scoring just 20 points over his prior seven games, Knox erupted for 17 in the

Knicks’ comeback win over mighty Miami.

Knox, amidst a subpar sophomore season in which he’s averaging 7.5 points, needed this. If interim coach Mike Miller, whose club plays the Bucks here Tuesday, could be criticized for anything during his 18-game stint, it’s that Knox had looked lost on his watch.

In the second quarter Sunday, Knox lit it up, finally. He drew fouls to get to the freethrow line, then started burying 3’s. He capped his 13-point spree with a hard drive down the lane for a left-handed flush.

“He made a big impact throughout the game,’’ Miller said. “But especially in the first half. He really gave us a big lift. He played with a force about him, getting downhill. He was aggressive. He was versatile. He did a lot of different things. We saw his aggression defensively as well. He played very well. “

Knox has been in a quandary when asked about his low production. He won’t blame a recently revealed knee injury he had during the summer. His scoring average dipped from last season’s 12.8 and his shooting percent stands at a mediocre 37.8 percent.

Knox has talked about Miller emphasizing to him the importance of being more than just a spot-up 3-point shooter, getting him to experiment more with drives, floaters, and pullups. But Knox had seemed unsure when to pick his spots and his shot attempts dwindled, cently.

In Utah, it was startling to see how much more aggressive 2017 lottery pick Frank Ntilikina looked in hunting for his shot. In Knox’s first six minutes in Utah, he didn’t take a shot.

“Every single game he told me to be aggressive,’’ Knox said of Miller. “[Sunday] the shots were falling. I got to the line a few times to get a rhythm. That kind of helped a lot to get some easy [points]. The next thing I especially reknow the jumper is falling. It’s something I have to consistently be able to do, get easy baskets to get me going.”

When Marcus Morris went down with a neck injury last week, it figured Knox would move up into the starting lineup, especially as an avenue to get him out of his rut.

Instead, Miller promoted emerging veteran Reggie Bullock. That led to the new coach being criticized for ignoring the Knicks’ player-development philosophy. In his defense, Miller is trying to PRINTED AND DISTRIBUTED BY PRESSREADER PressReader.com +1 604 278 4604 ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY COPYRIGHT AND PROTECTED BY APPLICABLE LAW