Mohamed Diawara seems to have reestablished himself in the Knicks rotation.
He recorded 14 points on 5-for-14 shooting from the field in 15 minutes during the 114-89 win over the Spurs on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Of those 14 shots, 13 were 3-pointers.
Those 14 shots were the most he’s taken in a game this year.
And those 14 points were tied for second most.
“Everybody was like ‘keep shooting and take your shot,’ ” Diawara said. “The whole team told me to shoot, for real.”
When the Knicks signed Jeremy Sochan during the All-Star break, coach Mike Brown had suggested that Diawara’s minutes might have to be sacrificed in order to give playing time to Sochan and see where he fits before the postseason.
That happened for a few games, but Sochan did not make much of an impact with his workload.
And now, Diawara is back on top in the pecking order.
Sochan did not play until garbage time Sunday.
And Sunday was the second straight game Diawara got significant minutes and impressed — he recorded 10 points in 22 minutes during the rout of the Bucks on Friday.
“First thing I would say, Mo is not afraid,” Brown said. “For a young guy, I’ve thrown him out there in games, to start, on national TV and he didn’t bat an eye. He might’ve started three games in a row, then he might not have played at all the fourth game. He doesn’t bat an eye. He’s the most confident young man I’ve been around. He’s got a chance to be, not good, [but] good-good. He’s worked extremely hard on his shooting, because like you saw tonight, teams play off of him.”
More and more, though, he’s made opponents pay for not respecting his 3-point shot.
“Every time the ball touches his hands, I’m yelling at him to shoot it,” Landry Shamet said. “I want that kid to stay aggressive. Obviously, we know how raw and talented he is.”
Sochan was facing his old Spurs team, which drafted him with the No. 9 overall pick in 2022, for the first time since they waived him.
“The hope for Jeremy, for me personally, was just that he got the opportunity he was looking for,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said before Sunday’s game. “I hope he makes the most out of the opportunities that he’ll get, that present themselves for him. Hopefully that’s here [with the Knicks].”
Karl-Anthony Towns surpassed 16,000 career points in Sunday’s win.
He recorded 12 points.
