Eventually, the Knicks had to draw a line in the sand.
The brutal brand of basketball they had been playing for over a week could not continue if they are the caliber of team they believe they are.
That line finally came near the end of the third quarter.
They scored the last five points of the quarter and subsequently outscored the Clippers by 10 to open the fourth quarter, part of a 20-5 run.
Not long after, they led by 15.
Life returned to a side that was sleepwalking since the NBA Cup, more resembling the team that was rolling for the month prior.
Order has been restored, as the Knicks snapped their four-game losing streak with a 123-111 win Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
After their disappearing acts in the Knicks’ blowout loss to the Pistons on Monday, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby gave Jalen Brunson the support that had been missing during the four-game skid.
Towns spent most of the first three quarters struggling with his shot and complaining about a lack of foul calls, entering the fourth quarter with just 10 points.
But unlike Monday, he was aggressive. He scored 10 in the fourth quarter and finished with 20.
Anunoby had 20 on an efficient 8-for-10 shooting from the field.
He spent most of the game guarding Kawhi Leonard, who recorded 25 points — but did not score in the fourth quarter as the Knicks pulled away.
Brunson had a game-high 26 points, but it was his supporting cast that got the Knicks out of their rut.
Miles McBride, back in the starting lineup, added 16 points and guarded James Harden on the other end.
Harden finished with 23 points — but only two came in the fourth quarter.
Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek provided a needed punch off the bench — Clarkson recorded 12 points and Kolek provided five assists.
Guerschon Yabusele even made an impact, chipping in eight points in 13 minutes.
Sure, it wasn’t pretty for large stretches of the game.
For three quarters, they couldn’t do much to slow down Harden or Leonard.
The ball was sticking at times.
They were struggling to separate from a team that, though they had won seven of their last eight, entered Wednesday nine games under .500 and began the season as the oldest team in NBA history.
But the Knicks didn’t need it to be pretty. They just needed to find a way out of the malaise that had taken over.
For one night, at least, this will do.
