Perhaps the best indication of what’s important for these Knicks — or what’s most relevant to their status as either contenders or pretenders — was the theme of Wednesday night’s postgame locker room interviews.

With their lengthy homestand winding down, the New York Knicks treated themselves to Memphis barbecue. The Knicks put up yet another dominant effort in front of an appreciative Madison Square Garden crowd,

Morant scored just 10 points on 5-13 shooting while being completely taken out of the game by New York's top wing defender. It was something that the coaching staff loved to see.

Mikal Bridges led the Knicks with 28 points and had a wild plus-43 in Monday night’s 143-106 win over Memphis at Madison Square Garden. But perhaps his most important contribution came on defense, as he helped shut down Grizzlies star Ja Morant, who scored just 10 points on 5-for-13 shooting in the rout.