Knicks’ Miles McBride takes advantage of rare start with career-best showing
Miles ‘Deuce’ McBride has been tremendous for the Knicks of late.
The young point guard has taken numerous steps forward with his game over the past few months, which is exactly why Tom Thibodeau turned to him on Monday night to take the injured OG Anunoby’s spot in the lineup.
Making just his sixth start of the season, McBride took full advantage of the opportunity on a national stage, as he put together a career-best showing in the wire-to-wire win over the Golden State Warriors.
The 23-year-old got off to an incredible start, holding superstar point guard Steph Curry scoreless in the first quarter and knocking down a career-high five threes en route to 19 first-half points.
McBride was relatively quiet in the third quarter, but his massive three and exclamation slam dunk helped put the finishing touches on a third consecutive victory for the suddenly red-hot Knicks.
The University of West Virginia product finished with a career-high 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from behind the arc while playing his usual stellar defense against Curry across 47 minutes of action.
"Deuce did a terrific job," Thibodeau said postgame. "He was never really in the rotation and it isn't easy to handle that, but he never complained, was always ready. The shooting tonight was huge for us."
McBride is now averaging 8.9 points on 43 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc since the beginning of the new year, which has led to increased opportunities.
The youngster is certainly earning more and more minutes moving forward, and his confidence is at an all-time high as he enjoys the best stretch of his three-year NBA career.
"All the glory to God, I always trust him first," McBride said. "Right now I'm just believing in myself, continuing to shoot with confidence, and trusting my work ethic and the work I've put in."
