The Knicks 3rd preseason game was looking like a big downer heading into the 4th quarter, with NY down by 14 points. They had been down 18 points because they simply could not shoot straight — Elfrid Payton, RJ Barrett, and Reggie Bullock were missing, and missing, and missing, while Cleveland’s guards (Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Dylan Windler and Damyean Dotson) were hitting their shots.
Smith Ignited, Quickley Orchestrated
But then Dennis Smith Jr began to ignite the charge in the 4th quarter with stifling on-ball defense, and rookie Immanuel Quickley took over the offense, putting the Knicks into an overdrive that lasted the whole quarter and led the Knicks to the win.
The rep on Quickley whom the Knicks drafted this past June with the #25 overall pick in the 1st round, is that he’s a phenomenal outside shooter. What we are seeing in the preseason is that he attacks the basket in many ways — constantly attacking — and scoring or setting up teammates.
This makes it easy for other players as it was on this night for Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox, Obi Toppin, and RJ Barrett — who reentered the game with 7 minutes left spelling Dennis Smith Jr. That was the lineup for the 4th as the Knicks ate up the 14 point deficit and won by 7.
Robinson = Beast on Both Ends
Mitchell Robinson was a BEAST on both ends of the court, ripping down rebounds, slam dunking off feeds, and providing a defensive presence.
Robinson finished with 13 points (on 5-7), 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 32 minutes. Just as amazingly, he played that well thru most of the quarter with 5 fouls! Nerlens Noel was out for this game. Even more impressive — Mitchell Robinson picked up 2 fouls against Andre Drummond within the first 2 minutes of the game and had to sit down, causing severe reactions from Knicks Twitter about how he hasn’t learned to not commit silly fouls and how could he ever be a starter.
Quickley Loosened the Offense Up
With Quickley attacking, and Mitchell Robinson beasting inside and out, the Knicks just rolled — the ball found the open man and everyone started hitting. Kevin Knox shot 5-8 for 16 points.
Kev in the 4th quarter last night:
🔥 14 PTS (4-4 FG, 3-4 FT) pic.twitter.com/RO8GiNoQ4C
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 17, 2020
The boxscore did not do Quickley justice — he finished with 3-11 shooting (1-6 from 3) for 9 points — but 7 assists and a +19.
Barrett had 16 points on 6-12 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Toppin had 8 pts on 4-6 shooting including a Statue of Liberty SLAM, and 7 rebounds. And Dennis Smith Jr 8 pts on 3-6 with 4 assists and 5 (Five) steals.
High up like the Statue of Liberty 🗽 pic.twitter.com/QVkFlpaTTT
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 17, 2020
Julius Randle played well — 7-10 shooting for 18 points, but was guilty of some overdribbling. It wasn’t his fault the Knicks were down by 14 entering the 4th though — that was due mainly to the guards not shooting well to that point.
Knicks down 57-53 at the half.
Julius leads the way with 13 points, 3 assists.
RJ Barrett: 10 points, 5 rebounds pic.twitter.com/2FliLWF78r— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 17, 2020
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