Through the first seven games of the season, win or lose, the Knicks took pride in playing the Tom Thibodeau way, bragging about their effort and attention to detail. And some nights it was enough to spur them to victory and when it wasn’t, it was a learning opportunity.
But Wednesday it just didn’t seem the same early in their game against the visiting Utah Jazz. The Knicks seemed tired, lost as they fell behind by 18 points in the first half. And then a switch turned on at halftime. The fight was back. Julius Randle was suddenly powering his way around the paint.