Since it became clear that newcomer Immanuel Quickley was the real deal – in other words, many months ago – fans have been begging the Knicks to put him on the starting lineup. It took half the season, some injuries and a slow start to an important game, but Tom Thibodeau finally put IQ in his rightful place alongside RJ Barrett and Julius Randle to start the second half of Saturday’s fight with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The results? Pure magic. New York’s newest Big 3 crushed the Thunder when a two-point lead from the Knicks at halftime turned into a 119-97 prank.
Thunder is not a playoff candidate, and they were losing their star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but they didn’t make it easy in the beginning. Frank Ntilikina started at PG with Elfrid Payton and Derrick Rose out, and fought in the first minutes. The Knicks lost 31 points in the first quarter and lost by eight. They dug out of that hole in the second quarter thanks to Quickley’s hot kick (21 points on kicks from 9 to 16), which rediscovered his floater.
Alec Burks closed the half as a nominal point guard, and fans were wondering if another guy would come to defend Quickley. But Thibs shocked us all, giving IQ the reins to start the third. The OKC coach placed his main perimeter defender, Luguentz Dort, at Quickley, and RJ Barrett left.
Barrett finally broke the 30-point limit after several recent near misses, losing 32 points in 12-21 shots. I say “finally” as a joke, since the guy is still only 20 years old.
It is important to note that RJ made 6 more shots than on Thursday in Milwaukee, when Elfrid Payton executed the attack. Anyway, RJ is in full control of his game at the moment, and with Thunder’s defense concerned with Quickley, he had room to get to the rim at will. He also got 3-6 out of three, because that’s just something RJ does now.
Oh, and Julius Randle was there, too. Poor Julius was somewhat overshadowed by the excellence of his young teammates, despite presenting monstrous numbers: 26 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds. It was the second double triple of the season for Julius, the first Knick to record multiple triple-doubles in a season since Mark Jackson.
Will Thibs start IQ again? This is a story for another time. For now, let’s just enjoy the W. Recap to come.