Knicks fix their defensive woes by setting tone early in Game 6 rout

It should not have been possible for Mitchell Robinson. 

As a 7-footer, Robinson should not have been able to close out so quickly and ferociously on Jaylen Brown.

After Robinson stymied Jrue Holiday’s drive to the rim in the beginning of the second quarter, Holiday kicked it out to a wide-open Brown in the corner.

It appeared he’d get an uncontested 3-pointer.

Players on the Celtics’ bench began standing up behind him in anticipation of celebrating his shot. 

But Robinson sprinted out to Brown, who stopped his shooting motion when he saw Robinson barrelling his way.

Mitchell Robinson defends Jaylen Brown during the Knicks’ Game 6 win on May 16. Charles Wenzelberg

Robinson also stayed on his feet and hounded Brown for a few more seconds before he tipped his pass and stole it.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored on the other end, and the Knicks pushed their lead to 13. 

The sequence set an early tone and was a microcosm of the Knicks’ relentless defensive effort in their 119-81 Game 6 win over the Celtics on Friday night at Madison Square Garden to close out the series.

It was a complete 180 from their last showing two nights prior. 

The Celtics shot just 26.0 percent from the field and 29.3 percent from 3-point range.

Karl-Anthony Towns defends during the Knicks’ Game 6 win on May 16. NBAE via Getty Images

They also committed 16 turnovers, with the Knicks scoring 22 points off those turnovers.

The Knicks also owned the glass, recording 19 more rebounds than the Celtics. 

In Game 5, defensive lapses and miscommunication resulted in countless open 3-pointers for the Celtics.

After that loss, nearly every player in the rotation talked about the need to correct that very issue and how tired they were of it plaguing them.

There was comment after comment about the need to play with “urgency” and “desperation,” particularly on the defensive end.

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They began to sound like a broken record. 

Then Friday night, the Knicks were hellbent on contesting every 3-pointer they could.

Their rotations on screens were sharp.

They attacked every rebound and loose ball with force. 

In the third quarter, it was Mikal Bridges — with the Knicks up a comfortable 37 points — in a full end-to-end sprint to strip Brown on a fast break and win possession back for the Knicks. 

That defensive intensity and cohesion was particularly noticeable on Derrick White.

After scoring 34 points on 7-for-13 shooting from deep in Game 5, he had just eight on 2-for-8 shooting from 3-point range.

The wide-open looks he got on Wednesday were contested on Friday. 

All season, the Knicks’ defensive regression from previous seasons under Tom Thibodeau clouded over them.

But that stifling identity returned Friday night, and brought them straight to the Eastern Conference finals.