Tyler Kolek put up another productive outing off the bench on Friday, helping the short-handed New York Knicks pick up a win on the road over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kolek produced five points and five assists in the 116-107 victory at the Fiserv Forum without Jalen Brunson (ankle), Miles McBride (groin) and Cameron Payne (ankle). He finished a game-high plus-18 in 17 minutes on the court in his seventh straight appearance.
The 34th pick has seen a more prominent role of late for the Knicks, with Brunson missing the past 11 games. He has responded by recording 31 assists against one turnover in March, the best assist-to-turnover ratio among all players in the NBA.
"We said this going in, when you lose a guy like Jalen and then you lose Deuce and you lose Cam, that is a testament to those guys to be ready," Tom Thibodeau said of Kolek and Delon Wright, who had 12 points and four assists in his first start. "I love Tyler's approach all year, so I'm very confident (in him). ... I thought we got terrific point guard play."
Kolek has played sparingly with the Knicks this season, averaging 1.8 points and 1.4 assists in 37 appearances. He has spent time in the G League, averaging 18.5 points, 8.9 assists, five rebounds and 1.6 steals in eight games with Westchester.
The 24-year-old has logged at least 17 minutes in four consecutive games for Thibodeau, dishing out 29 assists. He totaled nine in a win against Dallas on Tuesday, including seven in the fourth quarter, the most by a Knicks rookie since the league began tracking quarter splits in 1997-98.
His time in the G League enabled him to stay ready to contribute. He has made steady progress throughout the year and has produced of late, with the Knicks' backcourt banged up.
This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Knicks news: Tyler Kolek leads all players in one key stat in March
