The New York Knicks powered past the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, but without two of their young productive pieces, the cards might have fallen a different way. While the starters stepped up in this contest, with Julius Randle producing 20 points and Evan Fournier contributing 26, the bench scored a combined 38 points.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau utilizes more bench pieces than not, but only three players earned action in the win: Obi Toppin, Alec Burks, and Immanuel Quickley. Burks contributed a healthy 12 points, three assists, and six rebounds, but the team’s two draft picks from 2020 stepped up in a big way.