As the Knicks were blowing out the Pacers, midtown briefly sounded like The Bronx.
“Let’s Go Yankees,” the crowd chanted in the second half of the Knicks’ 123-98 detonation Friday night of the Pacers.
The reason was Giancarlo Stanton had just blasted a two-run homer in the World Series, and even Knicks players were enjoying the celebration.
“I heard the cheer and looked at Jalen [Brunson], and I was like, ‘What are they cheering about?’ ” Josh Hart, a relative of former Yankees great Elston Howard, said in the locker room as he watched the eighth inning on TV. “And I saw the score and was like, ‘Yes sir.’ Then I saw the replay of it on the Jumbotron. I was tapped in.”
Karl-Anthony Towns, a Yankees fan from Piscataway, N.J., said he was also “looking up” at the Jumbotron to watch Stanton’s swat.
There was an injury scare in the second quarter. Miles McBride, the team’s top performer in the Boston opener three days prior, appeared to land awkwardly after a drive in the paint.
He limped through a couple more possessions before being subbed out and retreating to the locker room.
An already thin Knicks bench — which was missing Precious Achiuwa (hamstring) — would’ve been tested.
But McBride returned with a brace on his left knee and played in the second half, finishing with eight points in 20 minutes.
Coach Tom Thibodeau shortened his rotation to eight players, removing rookie Pacome Dadiet from the equation before emptying his bench in garbage time.
His three players off the bench in the first half were McBride, Jericho Sims and Cam Payne.
Dadiet was a surprise addition to the Knicks rotation in the opener at Boston, with Thibodeau calling the Frenchman a replacement for the injured Landry Shamet.
“Obviously, we thought Landry was playing well, we were going that way,” the coach said. “He was the next man in the rotation.”
Shamet was a lock to make the final roster before dislocating his shoulder in the preseason. In related news, the Westchester Knicks acquired the second overall pick in the G-League draft and intend to use that choice — or the top overall pick, which they also own — on Shamet, according NBA insider Marc Stein.
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The purpose of drafting Shamet would be to supervise — and monitor — his recovery from the dislocated shoulder. If Shamet returns to close to 100 percent (he’s opted against surgery), the Knicks can give him a roster spot.
They’re also interested in signing 27-year-old forward Matt Ryan, sources confirmed.
The Knicks have filled 12 roster spots and need to get to 14.
