The loudest ovation of Friday night’s 116-107 loss to the 76ers had nothing to do with the Knicks’ pregame celebration for winning the NBA Cup.
No, some of the noisiest cheers belonged to Mitchell Robinson, who made more free throws in Friday night’s game than he had in all of the 17 games prior.
Robinson is known for being a menace on the offensive glass — not being reliable at the charity stripe. It’s why some teams are perfectly fine with sending the 7-footer to the foul line.
But Friday night was a different story.
Robinson, a career 51.1 percent free throw shooter, made a career-high seven of his eight free throw attempts. The crowd got louder, more enthused with each make.
Josh Hart said after the game he’s rarely seen a crowd react to free throws the way it did for Robinson.
On a night when Hart and OG Anunoby struggled to find their groove on offense, Robinson provided a major boost, though it ultimately wasn’t enough.
Robinson finished with season highs in points (21) and rebounds (16). He also grabbed six of the Knicks’ 21 offensive boards, though his presence alone on the floor often helps the Knicks keep possessions alive.
“Mitch is going to be impactful whether the ball is going for him or not. That’s who he is as a player. That’s who he is as a teammate,” Jalen Brunson said. “He’s gonna find ways to impact the game and when that’s happening for us as well, we got to capitalize and try to win games.”
But Robinson’s free throw making may have been his most surprising impact.
Robinson has been working with Knicks shooting coach Peter Patton on improving his arc. The two met at 10 a.m. Friday to shoot free throws.
That work paid off Friday.
“He’s working, he’s concentrating, and you’re seeing the progress on his work,” Brunson said. “And he’s going to continue to work and get better at it.”
Robinson entered the game shooting 22.2 percent from the foul line. It jumped to 35.3 percent thanks to his near-perfect performance.
Will Robinson’s night make opposing teams think twice about sending him to the line?
Robinson hopes so.
“I’m trying to stop everybody from doing that hacking and s–t,” he said. “So that’s kind of the main goal because I wouldn’t be able to play the fourth quarter, you know what I mean? The longer I’m out there, the more I help my teammates.”
