Cam Payne, bench give Knicks ‘big lift’ in Jalen Brunson’s absence against Pacers

The Knicks entered Tuesday’s tip with the Pacers with just two more games remaining on the calendar before the All-Star break. And with the clunker they had against the Celtics over the weekend, it was important to have a bounce-back performance against a team chasing them in the standings.

When Jalen Brunson was limited because of foul trouble in the second half, it was easy to question whether the Knicks could find their offensive rhythm without their floor general. Well, it turns out the team was more than capable on this night thanks to the contributions from the bench.

Yes, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart led the way with a combined 70 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists but no other starter scored in double figures. The rest of the scoring came from the reserves.

Deuce McBride scored 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting (4-of-4 from three), Landry Shamet added 11 points and Cam Payne scored nine points but dished eight assists to help the Knicks pull away late for a 128-115 win.

“Bench came in and gave us a big lift,” coach Tom Thibodeau said after the Knicks’ win. “I love the way. Cam and Deuce, and Landry played. And KAT had a monster game and then of course what Josh did was…it’s what we needed to win…so good team win. Good bounce back.”

“Just to be super solid. Make sure we get into ourselves,” Payne said of his mindset with Brunson on the bench. “Just make sure everything kept running properly while he was out, push the pace and, man, just keep being myself out there.”

Payne is in his first season with the Knicks after a successful run in Phoenix where he helped the Suns get to the NBA Finals in 2021. That experience allows Thibodeau to trust the 30-year-old guard to take Brunson’s minutes. While Brunson only clocked in 22 minutes, Payne was on the floor for nearly 24 minutes and was a plus-nine. Entering Tuesday, he averaged 14 minutes a game. McBride, usually the first guard off the bench, put in 25 minutes while Shamet — who averaged just 10 minutes a game — gave the Knicks 19 minutes.

The Knicks had 37 assists in their win against the Pacers, something Payne attributed to the team’s ball movement.

“I loved the way we shared the ball,” Thibodeau said. “I thought guys were making plays for each other. And when you play like that the game, it makes the game easy.”

As Payne put it, playing together with Shamet in the preseason is paying off, as was shown on Tuesday. Their chemistry and efficiency on the court not only helped the Knicks come away with the win, but gave Brunson — who is fifth in the lead in minutes — a breather on the bench.

“We were all new like still. We are still learning each other,” Payne said of playing with Shamet in the preseason. “But no, it was a big time in the preseason we all played together all preseason. So it was pretty nice to get us back out there tonight and shout out Lambo, he played good tonight.”

Another benefit of Brunson spending a good portion of the game on the bench was that he should be rested for Wednesday’s tip against the Hawks, the second of the Knicks’ back-to-back before the All-Star break.