An expensive weekend due to Mitchell Robinson’s injury still resulted in two major victories against insufficient opponents for the Knicks.
Immanuel Quickley hit four points and scored 22 points – while substitution centers Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson played well in the first game without Robinson – with the depth of the Knicks leading them to a convincing 121-99 victory on Saturday night. Rockets in the Garden.
Derrick Rose contributed 16 points from the bench for the Knicks (13-15) to take advantage of Victor Oladipo’s absence from Houston due to a foot and ankle injury, as well as the night before against the Wizards without NBA leader Bradley Beal.
Julius Randle also scored 22 points and Elfrid Payton added 15 for the Knicks, who will host the Hawks on Monday. John Wall led the Rockets (11-15) with 26 points, while Eric Gordon finished with 24.
With Robinson facing the prospect of surgery after breaking a bone in his right hand during Friday’s victory in Washington, Noel made his first start of the season and finished with 10 points and six rebounds in 32 minutes, the best of the season. Gibson replaced Noel in the second unit and contributed four points and five hits in 16 minutes.
“Our holders and our bank are similar in many ways,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “The individual strengths are a little different with each guy. But in terms of what they bring to the team, you can argue that you can start all the guys in the second unit. “
Noel arrived with an average of just 17.5 minutes per game off the bench, but he is in fifth place in the league, with 2.0 shots blocked per game.
Noel converted Randle’s initial alley-oop pass, and Reggie Bullock buried three points out of three during a 16-3 run for an eight point Knicks cushion in the middle of the first quarter. His second unit – with Gibson replacing Noel – ended the period with buckets from rookies Quickley and Obi Toppin (11 points) to a 30-25 lead.
The advantage was extended to 14 with a 15-4 spurt, with Rose and Quickley’s tandem defense having nine points. The pair finished with seven each in half, and the Knicks led by up to 17, taking a 63-47 lead to the break.
It was the third straight forward game with Knicks for Rose since it was acquired last weekend in Detroit. He even studied videos with assistant coach Andy Greer at the team’s training center in Tarrytown after the Knicks returned home from Washington on Friday night.
“He’s a great student of the game,” said Thibodeau. “He always had that. I think that was what allowed him to adapt, grow and change. I think you see this with many players who are dominant. They are constantly adding things to their game.
“So it doesn’t surprise me. I think he spent a lot of time trying to understand his new teammates and what his strengths are and how he can use them more effectively ”.
Randle finished the half with 13 points and Noel added eight in a 4 out of 5 shot, with the Knicks throwing 52.2 percent off the ground and making just one turn in the first two quarters.
The Knicks were sloppy in the third, making four early turns, allowing the Rockets to reduce the lead to five with 3:40 remaining. Wall hit 15 points in the fourth, but a dunk from Noel and two from 3 points from Quickley pushed the Knicks’ lead to 87-75 in the final quarter.