Quentin Grimes has ceded his starting spot with the Knicks to Josh Hart since returning from a two-game absence with a shoulder injury.
But one of Tom Thibodeau’s most-repeated phrases is “it’s not who starts, it’s who finishes.” Grimes came off the bench for a second straight game, but he played the final 15 minutes of Tuesday’s Game 2 win over the Heat, much of it alongside Hart to have both perimeter defenders on the floor to close the game.
“Yeah, just defensively, I felt very good,” Thibodeau said after the game. “I think the more he plays, the more the rhythm will come.”
Grimes started 66 games in the regular season plus the first three of the opening round against the Cavaliers before he sat out the final two with a contused right shoulder.
Grimes played just 10 minutes in the Game 1 loss to Miami, but Thibodeau stuck with him — rather than reinserting hot-shooting RJ Barrett — down the stretch of Tuesday’s win because of the increased volume of 3-point attempts by the Heat with star forward Jimmy Butler sidelined.
“I just thought we came together,” Grimes said. “We were able to fight for every loose ball, came up with the 50/50 ones, rebounded well. I feel like we kind of just locked in.”
Grimes still is seeking to rediscover his offensive game, however, totaling 18 points in five postseason appearances, with two made 3-pointers in 14 attempts.
Asked if the Knicks will prepare for Butler (sprained ankle) to return to the Heat lineup for Game 3 on Saturday, Thibodeau quipped, “You already know the answer to that.”
“No, we will. I think that’s sort of the nature of the beast right now, for everyone,” he added. “You go in, and guys are nicked up at this time of the year. And so there’s the possibility that guys could be in or out, so you always have, ‘OK, there’s a possibility he could be out, but who will be in? What would the plan be if those guys are available?’
“If Jimmy is available, then we’ll have a plan for him. You also knew in [Tuesday’s] case, when he was out, it would be a different type of game, and it was.”
Jalen Brunson (30 points), Julius Randle (25) and Barrett (24) became the first Knicks trio to each score 20 or more points in a playoff game since Marcus Camby, Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell in Game 4 of the 1999 NBA Finals against the Spurs.
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Quentin Grimes still gets his chance after losing Knicks starting spot - New York Post
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