Three days rest and the lowly Houston Rockets did the trick.
The Knicks got off the schneid by pummeling the Rockets with points in Monday’s 137-115 runaway victory, snapping their three-game losing streak behind Immanuel Quickley’s career evening.
Quickley, playing in the place of the injured Jalen Brunson, finished with a personal-best 40 points, carrying the Knicks through a third-quarter run that forged the cakewalk.
The Knicks stepped on the gas in the final period, and the Rockets — young, disorganized and generally awful — offered little resistance.
“Winning definitely solves a lot of things,” Quickley said.
The victory was important for two reasons: it reestablished positive vibes by killing the losing streak; and it gave the Knicks a 2 ½ game lead for fifth in the East ahead of the Nets and Heat.
Miami is the next opponent at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, and there were concerns the Knicks might fall victim to a trap game against the sadsack Rockets (18-58).
Instead, the home team (43-33) took care of business.
“I feel like those quote, unquote trap games and those kind of things is what everyone else looks at it as,” Josh Hart said. ” We know we can’t be looking forward to this Miami game because Houston has the ability and talent to go up on us by 20 if we take them lightly. So we know that, we know as competitors, we focus on the next game, focus on the opponent. We’re not looking forward to Miami, not looking forward to what seed we’re going to get in the playoffs. Anything like that.”
Quickley, who shot a remarkable 14-for-18 in 30 minutes, was the catalyst. He was gunning for the career high and remained in attack mode until breaking his previous high of 38 with a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter.
The career high clearly meant a lot to Quickley.
“It was tougher than probably game-winning free throws, just because I started thinking about all the work that I’ve put in throughout the whole summer, really throughout my life,” Quickley said. “Just a whole bunch of flashbacks started going through my mind.”
Quickley was showered with ‘MVP’ chants and a rousing ovation after his final substitution. Julius Randle added 26 points without exerting much energy in 28 minutes. RJ Barrett dropped 19 points. The final period was extended garbage time.
The highlight defensive play was in the third quarter, when Mitchell Robinson snatched Jabari Smith’s dunk attempt from his hands. It was somehow both a steal and a block.
Before the Rockets became easy fodder, the Knicks’ losing streak coincided with exceptionally poor defense. They had been giving up a ton of 3-pointers, but Monday brought a different issue in the beginning — the Rockets feasted on twos and free throws while shooting 54% overall in the first half, with only four 3-pointers made.
This time, the Knicks, with their legs spry following three days off following their loss in Orlando, dominated the second half.
“I like the way we came out today,” Randle said. “Finally got our defense going in the second half. Just playing efficient basketball.”
BRUNSON OUT AGAIN
Although the Knicks claimed he fully practiced a day earlier (the team doesn’t allow the media to observe any parts of practice), Brunson was ruled out with his sprained right hand.
The point guard sometimes kept his injured hand inside a jacket pocket, but it was clearly covered by a wrap or splint. About 90 minutes prior to tipoff, head coach Tom Thibodeau called Brunson a game-time decision. Brunson, however, never warmed up on the Garden court before he was ruled out.
Thibodeau also claimed Sunday that he didn’t know whether Brunson underwent X-rays or an MRI. The Knicks haven’t made Brunson available to the media since he suffered the injury March 22.
Brunson has missed seven of the last 11 games with either a “sprained hand” or a “sore foot.”
HONORING THE CAPTAIN
It was the first home game since the passing of Willis Reed, and the team unveiled a tribute on their uniforms: a black ribbon on the shoulder areas with 19 — The Captain’s number — in the middle.
Those will remain on the jerseys through this season. There was also a #19 painted on the outskirts of the Garden court near the Knicks bench. Fittingly, the tribute for Reed, a famous alumni of Grambling State, occurred on HBCU night.
A moment of silence preceded the game for Reed, who died on March 21 at 80 years old.
()
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment