An expensive weekend due to Mitchell Robinson’s injury continued to lead to two major victories against unruly opponents for the Knicks.
Immanuel Quickley connected with four triples and scored 22 points – while substitutes Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson played well in the first game without Robinson – as the Knicks depth led them to a convincing 121-99 victory Saturday night over the Rockets. the garden.
Derrick Rose contributed 16 points from the bench as the Knicks (13-15) took advantage of Victor Oladipo’s absence for Houston due to a foot and ankle injury, as they had the night before against the Wizards without the 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.
Robinson faces the possibility of surgery after breaking a bone in his right hand during Friday’s victory in Washington, Noel began his first season and finished with 10 points and six rebounds in a season of 32 minutes. Gibson replaced Noel on the second unit and contributed four points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.
“Our starters and our bench are similar in many ways,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “Individual strengths are a little different for each type. But in terms of what I bring to the team, you can claim that you can start all the guys who are in the second unit. ”
Noel came on average with just 17.5 minutes per game off the bench, but ranks fifth in the league with 2.0 blocks blocked per game.
Noel converted an early alley-oop pass from Randle, and Reggie Bullock buried three triples during a 16-3 run for an eight-point Knicks pillow in the middle of the first quarter. Their second unit – with Gibson replacing Noel – closed the period with buckets from rookies Quickley and Obi Toppin (11 points) for a 30-25 advantage.
The advantage was extended to 14 with a 15-4 sprint, the rear field tandem of Rose and Quickley representing nine points. The duo finished with seven pieces in the half, and the Knicks led by up to 17, while they had a 63-47 lead at the break.
It was the third game in a row with Knicks for Rose since it was purchased last weekend from Detroit. He even studied videos with assistant coach Andy Greer at the Tarrytown training center after the Knicks returned home from Washington late Friday night.
“He’s a great student of the game,” Thibodeau said. “It simply came to our notice then. I think that allowed him to adapt, grow and change. I think you see that with a lot of players who are dominant players. It is constantly being added to their game.
“It simply came to our notice then. I think he put a lot of time into trying to understand his new teammates and what their strengths are and how he can use them better. ”
Randle finished the half with 13 points, and Noel added eight to 4 to 5, while the Knicks pulled 52.2% from the floor and hired a single turnover in the first two quarters.
The Knicks became sloppy in the third, making four early turnovers, allowing the Rockets to reduce the lead to five with 3:40 left. Wall pumped in the 15th quarter, but a Noel shot and two Quickley triples pushed the Knicks 87-75 into the final quarter.