Jalen Bronson failed in his bid for a league-wide award when Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen was named the NBA Most Valuable Player on Monday.
Bronson finished third with four out of 100 votes, behind Markkanen (67) and Thunder guard Shay Gilgos-Alexander (24).
Knicks forward Julius Randle won the award in 2021, joining former Bulls guard Jimmy Butler as players to earn the recognition while being coached by Tom Thibodeau.
Markkanen has averaged 25.6 points for Utah this season after arriving from Cleveland in the Donovan Mitchell deal.
The Knicks point guard has averaged 24.0 points and 6.2 assists in 68 games after signing a four-year, $104 million contract via free agency last summer.
Overlooked Knicks spirited Game 4 victory over the Cavaliers was another ineffective display from one of their most influential players all season.
Emmanuel Kwekley, runner-up for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, connected with zero field goal attempts for the second time in the Knicks’ first-round series against the Cavaliers.
The third-year combo guard posted a . 348 field goal percentage (8-for-23) and is 3-for-11 from 3-point range in the series entering Game 5 on Wednesday in Cleveland.
Quickley finished Game 4 with a plus-11 rating, which he tied with Obi Toppin for best margin of the game.
He also led the Knicks in +27 over 23 minutes in Game 3, contributing his most efficient offensive numbers in the series with 11 points from 4-of-6 from the floor.
Journey lead singer Steve Perry wasn’t caught out with his own song at the Giants postseason game in San Francisco a few years ago, but Nicks guard Josh Hart was caught by TV cameras singing along – infamously – to the band’s Hall of Fame song. Rock famously said “Don’t Stop Believin'” during a layover during Sunday’s game.
“I can not sing. Hart joked after the match. “I’ve said it before, if I could sing, I probably wouldn’t play basketball. At that point, the sounds were awful. I hit the ball very badly. was bad. That’s all I can say.”
The Knicks held a decisive advantage on the board in Game 4, defeating the Cavaliers 47-33 overall and 17-7 on offensive glass.
Mitchell Robinson recorded at least five offensive rebounds in three of four games, and Tobin recorded eight rebounds overall, his season-high.
“The rebound was massive and I think it was crucial for us,” said coach Thibodeau. “It has been one of our strengths all year. We have to keep doing that, and that’s a big part of winning. While keeping our turnover low, we must do it better. But the defensive rebounding, the low turnovers, that’s huge.”
