In the first eight games of the playoffs, Landry Shamet scored 14 total points.
He had 15 points Friday night.
Talk about providing a needed boost.
With OG Anunoby out due to a minor hamstring strain, Shamet was given a shot, and he took advantage. The veteran sharpshooter played a pivotal role coming off the bench, as the Knicks took a commanding 3-0 lead in this Eastern Conference semifinal series with a 108-94 victory over the 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
“You just stay ready,” he said. “It felt good, it felt good to get out there with my teammates, it felt good to get a win. We have one more.”
Shamet was part of a blockbuster effort from the bench.
Mitchell Robinson delivered six points, six rebounds and a monster alley-oop slam over Joel Embiid. Jordan Clarkson (four points, five rebounds, three assists) and Jose Alvarado also contributed.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Knicks reserves had amassed 25 points to the 76ers’ zero. The bench is one of the biggest areas of improvement with this team.
A year ago, the Knicks were overdependent on their starters, but team president Leon Rose built up the bench, adding Clarkson in the offseason and Alvarado in February.
“As a coach, you love to see it, and that’s why you give different guys opportunities at different times,” coach Mike Brown said. “Sometimes, you start Landry. Sometimes, you start [Mohamed Diawara]. And what hopefully it shows at the end of the day coming from me is that I have confidence in them, and not only that, your number can be called any time, so be ready.”
Shamet was the biggest star of this group. He had a strong regular season, averaging 9.3 points and shooting 39.2 percent from 3-point range in 51 games.
He was supposed to be a key part of the playoff rotation, but struggled early in the Hawks series.
Then came the minor injury to Anunoby in Game 2. It gave Shamet a chance to assert himself. He didn’t miss that opportunity. He entered in the first quarter, and helped the Knicks stabilize the game after trailing by 12. He hit a big 3-pointer late in the third quarter that pushed the lead to nine. In his 26 minutes, the Knicks outscored the 76ers by 20 points.
He even was on the floor in the final minutes as the Knicks moved to within one win of a return trip to the Eastern Conference finals.
“We talk to him and give him his dap for what he does,” Mikal Bridges said of Shamet. “But that’s just a true professional.”