Big Apple Redemption: NY Knicks Player Lock MyLeague

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Birch Recognized for Brilliant Rookie Campaign

New York, NY (AP) -- The hype, for now at least, seems to have been exceeded. Three years ago, as a high school senior, Jelani Birch was supposed to be the next big thing. The consensus number one amateur basketball player in the nation seemed poised for a future full of fame and glory. However, one unfortunate misstep seemed to derail his career. Birch, instead of spending one year at the division one college of his choice, found himself rehabbing his image for two years at Hutchinson Community College.

Fortunately for Knicks fans and most basketball fans, it appears we just witnessed the dawn of a basketball career that could be talked about with the likes of Jordan, LeBron, Kareem, and Wilt. Jelani Birch averaged an astonishing 26.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 8.4 APG, rookie numbers only bested in NBA history by Oscar Robertson. Birch finished first in the league PER and Estimated Wins Added. For his efforts, Birch was unanimously voted as rookie of the year and earned 1st Team All-NBA honors.

As for the Knicks, the addition of Birch brought about drastic improvement. It helped that Kristaps Porzingis, who missed 23 games in the 2018-2019 season, stayed healthy. Regardless, the combination of Birch and Porzingis was enough to improve the Knicks record by 22 games as the Knicks finished sixth in a very competitive Eastern Conference that saw five teams eclipse the 50-win mark. Porzingis earned 3rd Team All-NBA honors as he averaged 22.2 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.9 BPG.

The Knicks will face the Toronto Raptors (57-25) in the first round of the playoffs.

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Raptors Top Knicks in Game 1 Shootout


Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points in the Raptors 126-117 game one victory.

New York Knicks (0-1) at Toronto Raptors (1-0)
Apr 19, 2020 1 2 3 4 Final New York 28 28 33 28 117 Toronto 31 30 32 33 126 Top Performers New York Knicks Jelani Birch - 30 pts, 12 reb, 8 ast, 2 blk Kristaps Porzingis - 22 pts, 7 reb, 1 ast, 4 blk Toronto Raptors Kawhi Leonard - 31 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl Kyle Lowry - 30 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl	Team Stats Comparison NYK TOR FG Made-Att 43/85 40/81 3PT Made-Att 7/18 12/30 FT Made-Att 24/26 34/48 Rebounds 50 37 Assists 20 26 Turnovers 21 7 Steals 5 19 Blocks 8 8
New York Knicks STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Kristaps Porzingis 40 11/24 0/4 0/0 7 1 2 4 2 22 Jelani Birch 37 10/18 1/1 9/10 12 8 0 2 5 30 Tim Hardaway Jr. 31 5/10 1/2 3/3 3 1 0 0 1 14 Mitchell Robinson 26 1/5 0/0 0/0 8 0 1 0 1 2 Kevin Knox 22 3/3 2/2 2/2 0 0 0 1 2 10 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Mario Hezonja 24 3/6 1/3 3/3 5 3 0 1 4 10 Justin Holiday 23 6/9 2/4 5/6 5 2 2 0 3 19 Mike Scott 17 3/4 0/0 2/2 2 3 0 0 2 8 George Hill 14 1/3 0/2 0/0 2 2 0 0 1 2 Joakim Noah 13 0/3 0/0 0/0 6 0 0 0 0 0
Toronto Raptors STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Kawhi Leonard 39 14/24 2/3 1/2 8 5 3 0 2 31 Kyle Lowry 34 10/15 5/9 5/6 6 6 2 0 2 30 Pascal Siakam 31 3/9 1/4 3/4 4 2 2 2 2 10 Wesley Matthews 28 3/5 2/4 1/2 1 4 2 0 0 9 Alex Len 28 2/3 0/0 2/6 7 1 0 2 0 6 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Lucas Nogueira 21 2/6 0/0 6/6 6 4 1 3 0 10 C.J. Miles 19 3/7 1/5 6/7 3 1 1 0 0 13 Courtney Lee 15 0/4 0/2 2/2 2 1 0 0 1 2 J.J. Barea 15 2/5 1/2 4/5 0 2 1 0 0 9 Malachi Richardson 13 1/3 0/1 4/8 0 0 2 1 0 6

[RMJH4]

Awesome job by Birch... Congrats on the honours...Tough tough test now vs the Raptors. Hope the road to redemption doesn't end here.

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Round 1, Game 1 Results

Western Conference

(63-19) vs. (38-44)

Game 1: Thunder 123 - 114 Dallas Mavericks



(57-25) vs. (57-25)

Game 1: Rockets 120 - 110 Timberwolves




(59-23) vs. (43-39)

Game 1: Lakers 127 - 125 Jazz



(62-20) vs. (40-42)

Game 1: Warriors 111 - 96 Pelicans




Eastern Conference


(65-17) vs. (37-45)

Game 1: 76ers 119 - 109 Cavaliers



(53-29) vs. (51-31)

Game 1: Celtics 92 - 120 Bucks


(58-24) vs. (39-43)

Game 1: Pacers 102 - 96 Hawks

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Knicks Nip Raptors in OT Thriller to Even Series


Jelani Birch scored 41 points, dished out 9 assists, and grabbed 9 rebounds as the Knicks evened their series with the Raptors courtesy of a 132-129 overtime victory.

New York Knicks (1-1) at Toronto Raptors (1-1)
Apr 21, 2020 1 2 3 4 OT Final New York 32 24 23 35 18 132 Toronto 27 29 30 28 15 129 Top Performers New York Knicks Jelani Birch - 41 pts, 9 reb, 9 ast, 2 stl Tim Hardaway Jr. - 30 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl Toronto Raptors Kawhi Leonard - 37 pts, 7 ast, 6 reb, 1 stl Kyle Lowry - 17 pts, 6 ast, 4 reb, 2 stl	Team Stats Comparison NYK TOR FG Made-Att 52/93 47/94 3PT Made-Att 8/18 16/39 FT Made-Att 20/25 19/22 Rebounds 48 38 Assists 29 32 Turnovers 16 15 Steals 8 11 Blocks 6 8
New York Knicks STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Jelani Birch 41 16/25 2/2 7/7 9 9 2 1 4 41 Kristaps Porzingis 39 7/14 0/0 3/4 10 4 0 0 1 17 Tim Hardaway Jr. 38 11/14 5/7 3/4 3 3 1 0 3 30 Mitchell Robinson 35 3/5 0/0 2/2 8 1 2 2 1 8 Kevin Knox 33 3/7 0/4 0/0 5 3 2 1 1 6 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Justin Holiday 21 7/10 1/2 3/3 3 2 1 1 0 18 Mike Scott 17 3/6 0/0 1/3 1 0 0 0 3 7 Mario Hezonja 17 1/5 0/3 0/0 5 4 0 0 2 2 George Hill 13 1/5 0/0 0/0 1 3 0 0 1 2 Joakim Noah 11 0/2 0/0 1/2 3 0 0 1 0 1
Toronto Raptors STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Kawhi Leonard 41 14/27 5/9 4/5 6 7 1 0 4 37 Kyle Lowry 38 6/9 3/5 2/2 4 6 1 0 3 17 Serge Ibaka 37 4/10 0/3 0/0 6 3 1 3 1 8 Alex Len 37 7/9 0/0 0/0 6 3 2 3 0 14 Wesley Matthews 33 2/9 1/4 0/0 0 1 2 0 1 5 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS C.J. Miles 20 4/11 3/8 2/2 3 3 0 0 0 13 Pascal Siakam 19 5/5 2/2 1/2 3 1 3 0 0 13 J.J. Barea 18 2/7 2/5 6/7 2 5 0 0 3 12 Lucas Nogueira 16 1/1 0/0 2/2 6 2 1 2 0 4 Malachi Richardson 12 2/6 0/3 2/2 2 0 0 0 1 6

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Round 1, Game 2 Results

Western Conference

(63-19) vs. (38-44)

Game 1: Thunder 123 - 114 Mavericks
Game 2: Thunder 126 - 92 Mavericks



(57-25) vs. (57-25)

Game 1: Rockets 120 - 110 Timberwolves
Game 2: Rockets 133 - 115 Timberwolves



(59-23) vs. (43-39)

Game 1: Lakers 127 - 125 Jazz
Game 2: Lakers 101 - 89 Jazz



(62-20) vs. (40-42)

Game 1: Warriors 111 - 96 Pelicans
Game 2: Warriors 122 - 103 Pelicans



Eastern Conference


(65-17) vs. (37-45)

Game 1: 76ers 119 - 109 Cavaliers
Game 2: 76ers 97 - 93 Cavaliers



(53-29) vs. (51-31)

Game 1: Celtics 92 - 120 Bucks
Game 2: Celtics 111 - 104 Bucks



(58-24) vs. (39-43)

Game 1: Pacers 102 - 96 Hawks
Game 2: Pacers 127 - 88 Hawks

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Raptors Crush Knicks in Game Three



Kyle Lowry torched the nets, shooting 8/12 from three, en route to 32 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds.

Toronto Raptors (2-1) at New York Knicks (1-2)
Apr 23, 2020 1 2 3 4 Final Toronto 30 31 32 31 124 New York 34 25 33 28 110 Top Performers Toronto Raptors Kyle Lowry - 32 pts, 9 ast, 4 reb, 3 stl Kawhi Leonard - 23 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl New York Knicks Jelani Birch - 31 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk Kristaps Porzingis - 18 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast	Team Stats Comparison TOR NYK FG Made-Att 44/86 40/84 3PT Made-Att 19/37 6/27 FT Made-Att 17/23 24/31 Rebounds 42 44 Assists 29 27 Turnovers 13 13 Steals 8 5 Blocks 2 5
Toronto Raptors STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Kyle Lowry 36 11/17 8/12 2/2 4 9 3 0 1 32 Kawhi Leonard 35 8/12 2/3 5/8 7 6 2 0 3 23 Alex Len 31 4/10 0/1 4/4 9 0 0 0 3 12 Serge Ibaka 28 5/12 2/4 0/0 5 2 0 1 2 12 Wesley Matthews 26 1/5 0/3 2/2 2 2 1 0 1 4 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Pascal Siakam 24 6/9 1/3 1/2 9 2 1 0 1 14 C.J. Miles 20 5/9 2/6 1/1 3 2 0 0 1 13 J.J. Barea 15 3/6 3/4 2/2 0 3 0 0 0 11 Lucas Nogueira 15 0/1 0/0 0/2 2 0 0 1 1 0 Malachi Richardson 12 1/5 1/1 0/0 1 3 1 0 0 3
New York Knicks STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Kristaps Porzingis 35 7/11 0/1 4/5 11 3 1 0 1 18 Jelani Birch 34 13/2 1/2 4/5 10 7 1 1 4 31 Mitchell Robinson 31 3/4 0/0 3/4 8 0 0 4 1 9 Tim Haraway Jr. 30 2/13 2/10 0/0 2 5 0 0 1 6 Kevin Knox 26 2/6 0/1 2/2 2 2 0 0 2 6 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Mario Hezonja 23 4/8 1/3 3/4 1 2 1 0 0 12 Justin Holiday 19 2/9 0/5 2/2 4 2 0 0 0 6 Mike Scott 18 1/5 0/3 5/6 3 2 0 0 0 7 George Hill 14 5/5 2/2 1/1 1 4 1 0 3 13 Joakim Noah 10 1/2 0/0 0/2 2 0 1 0 1 2

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Round 1, Game 3 Results

Western Conference

(63-19) vs. (38-44)

Game 1: Thunder 123 - 114 Mavericks
Game 2: Thunder 126 - 92 Mavericks
Game 3: Thunder 116 - 115 Mavericks


(57-25) vs. (57-25)

Game 1: Rockets 120 - 110 Timberwolves
Game 2: Rockets 133 - 115 Timberwolves
Game 3: Rockets 115 - 117 Timberwolves


(59-23) vs. (43-39)

Game 1: Lakers 127 - 125 Jazz
Game 2: Lakers 101 - 89 Jazz
Game 3: Lakers 114 - 104 Jazz


(62-20) vs. (40-42)

Game 1: Warriors 111 - 96 Pelicans
Game 2: Warriors 122 - 103 Pelicans
Game 3: Warriors 126 - 119 Pelicans



Eastern Conference


(65-17) vs. (37-45)

Game 1: 76ers 119 - 109 Cavaliers
Game 2: 76ers 97 - 93 Cavaliers
Game 3: 76ers 125 - 102 Cavaliers


(53-29) vs. (51-31)

Game 1: Celtics 92 - 120 Bucks
Game 2: Celtics 111 - 104 Bucks
Game 3: Celtics 103 - 101 Bucks


(58-24) vs. (39-43)

Game 1: Pacers 102 - 96 Hawks
Game 2: Pacers 127 - 88 Hawks
Game 3: Pacers 103 - 108 Hawks