If there were fans, the Garden faithful would have spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day chanting “De-fense.”
The defensive momentum from Sunday’s rout in Boston carried over to MLK Day as the Knicks shut down the Magic in a gritty, grinding 91-84 matinee victory at the fan-free Garden.
The Knicks couldn’t shoot either — not even free throws — as the day turned into a brick-fest. And Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau savored this ugly win straight out of the 1990’s — when he was last here. The Knicks hung on despite blowing a 14-point early fourth-quarter lead.
“I love winning, so low-scoring, high-scoring, medium-scoring, it doesn’t matter,’’ Thibodeau said. “I just want to win. Whatever we have to do to find a way to win, improve every day, I want to be playing our best down the stretch.”
With RJ Barrett’s powerfully clutch performance (22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) and more defensive discipline, the Knicks posted their first victories on consecutive days in three years.
Breaking a drought of 40 back-to-back sets without a sweep is testament to the Knicks’ preparation under Thibodeau. The Knicks’ two-game winning streak advanced their record to 7-8. In a 72-game schedule, they are on pace for 33.6 wins, exceeding preseason expectations.
RJ Barrett Getty Images“They showed a lot of toughness,’’ Thibodeau said. “I knew it would be a challenge for us — back-to-back, early start. We played with the lead for most of the game. Then we took the hit to start the fourth quarter. Having the ability to take a punch, keep fighting and finding a way to win that’s a big part of this league. I loved the toughness we showed down the stretch.’’
Neither team finished above 40 percent shooting. The Knicks, who had lost five straight before this back-to-back, shot 35.6 percent; Orlando 33.7. The Knicks won despite dreadful shooting from 3-point range (5 of 27).
“Two huge wins for us,’’ Julius Randle said. “Could’ve been three — the Cleveland [game on Friday, a 106-103 loss], but we kind of let that one slip away. But it’s two huge wins on an extremely tough back-to-back, two early games. That’s really tough. I think it’s the first time in my career I’ve ever had that. It was extremely tough.
“But we won the game with our fight, passion, how unselfish we played for each other and we just fought on the defensive end. We got back to our principles. Our defense is what won us the game today. I’m proud of everybody.’’
The Knicks shook off Randle’s rare off-shooting day (5 of 19) to post a key win before taking off on a four-game West Coast trip.
Randle hit a clutch driving layup that put the Knicks in front 83-81 with 56 seconds left. And he still managed to notch 21 points and 17 rebounds as he made 8 of 12 from the line.
“I couldn’t throw a rock in the ocean, goodness,” Randle said.
Barrett made the key defensive play when he knocked away an Aaron Gordon pass with 40 seconds left. Reggie Bullock picked up the loose ball and Barrett finished it with a fast-break layup for an 85-81 lead. The Garden would have gone bonkers.
The Knicks held the Magic (6-8) to a paltry 13 points in the first quarter before Orlando awoke in the fourth before dropping its sixth straight. The injury-riddled Magic are missing Evan Fournier, Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac, among others.
Rookie point guard Cole Anthony, a Manhattan product in his first game against the Knicks, shot just 2 of 12 — both makes on 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, the Knicks got solid point guard play. Starter Elfrid Payton, Orlando’s former point guard, finished with 12 points — including one rare dunk off a slithery drive through the lane — and four assists.
“I feel like we took a big step today,’’ said Payton.
Meanwhile, Knicks rookie backup point guard Immanuel Quickley continued as a jolt of offense as he piled up 11 points in 11 first-half minutes, hitting his customary array of driving floaters. But he was scoreless in the second half when Orlando surged.
Though they traveled back from Boston early Sunday night, the Knicks were on the Garden court at 10 a.m. Monday to hold a shootaround.
“We’re finding ways to win and that’s the important part,’’ Randle said. “One thing we know we can rely on is our defense every night and our rebounding.’’
