Knicks Notes: Toppin, Rotation, McBride, Randle

Obi Toppin was part of an unusual closing lineup for the Knicks in Sunday’s Game 4 victory over the Cavaliers, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. With Julius Randle shooting just 3-of-10 from the field, coach Tom Thibodeau used Toppin as his power forward for virtually the entire fourth quarter. He delivered five points and eight rebounds in the game, and New York outscored Cleveland by 11 points in the 20 minutes he was on the court.

“I thought Obi was terrific,” Thibodeau said. “He gave us energy, but he also gave us rebounding.”

The Knicks finished out the contest with Toppin and Isaiah Hartenstein joining RJ Barrett, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson. Thibodeau stuck with the unconventional lineup, which staged a late 15-6 run that put the game out of reach.

“Those guys built the lead,” he said. “Obviously whatever you think gives the team the best chance to win, that’s what you’re gonna do.”

There’s more from New York:

• Quentin Grimes‘ shoulder injury is creating an opportunity for Miles McBride, Braziller adds. The second-year guard hit a three-pointer and did a solid job defending Donovan Mitchell during his five minutes of action Sunday. “The coaches are gonna be pretty transparent with me, so they were like, ‘be ready, games can flow in different ways,’ so I was always trying to stay ready,” McBride said. “My development coach has definitely been locked in with the film showing me a lot of things and making sure I was staying on it. And then just trust in my abilities.”
• A left ankle injury that Randle suffered in late March is contributing to his struggles so far in the series, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. The All-Star forward was limited to 27 minutes Sunday and is shooting 21-of-65 through the first four games. “The thing is, he had to work around the clock to get back,” Thibodeau said. “That’s what I love about Julius. He gives you everything that he has. There’s 77 games, he sprains his ankle and then he works like crazy to get back, you know how important he is to the team, but to get back, to get ready to play — our medical people did a great job, but that’s all him. He was working around the clock on that, he still is. That’s the challenge that we have and that’s what I respect about him. And we just got to get ready for our next game.”
• While Mitchell was misfiring with his shot on Sunday, going 5-of-18 from the field, the Knicks got major contributions from players who were rumored to be part of trade negotiations to acquire him from the Jazz last summer, notes Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. Toppin, Barrett and Mitchell Robinson all played a role in the Game 4 victory.