Following a tough loss to the Orlando Magic last Thursday, the Knicks bounced back in the biggest way possible, taking down the Rockets, 137-115. This was a much-needed win, as before this, the Knicks had lost three in a row.
While the Rockets certainly aren’t a team to brag about beating, it was huge in the fact that not only did New York win, but it was in blowout fashion and a certain Knick managed to drop a new career high.
That’s right, guard Immanuel Quickley managed to scrape together an incredible 40-point performance amid New York’s blowout victory, showing just how important he is to this team.
Immanuel Quickley is the first Knicks player with 40 points, 5 assists and 75% shooting in a game since Nate Robinson in 2010.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 28, 2023
He is the 5th Knicks player to do this, including the reg. season and playoffs pic.twitter.com/0VRb2vMVST
Immanuel Quickley drops new career high in blowout victory over Rockets
In 30 minutes of action, Quickley managed to score 40 points, grabbed two rebounds, and dished out nine assists, shooting 14-of-18 from the field and 5-of-7 from deep, being far and away the Knicks’ best player on the floor.
The Rockets simply couldn’t do anything to stop Quickley, which makes sense considering they have one of, if not the worst, defenses in the entire NBA. While he may not have boosted his Sixth Man of the Year Award odds since he started, Quickley didn’t hurt them.
Quickley has been having an underrated season on both sides of the ball and the Knicks have consistently benefited from it with Monday being another example of just how great he is.
However, what made this performance even better was the fact that it didn’t come at the cost of Quickley’s teammates, as everyone on the team was feeding on Houston’s poor defense. As a team, the Knicks shot 58.1% from the field and 43.6% from three on 39 attempts.
Alongside Quickley, Julius Randle scored 26 of his own points with RJ Barrett adding an efficient 19 on top of that. Honestly, there aren’t many complaints to be made which is a great feeling to have after the Knicks’ recent stretch of games.
Hopefully, this energy continues as the team enters their final six games of the season. A momentum boost entering the playoffs could do this team wonders. The good thing about this, though, is that the Knicks have a relatively easy schedule to end the season, meaning that things could get very interesting for New York come playoff time.
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