Immanuel Quickley brought a spark to the Knicks in their 100-98 In-Season Tournament comeback win over the rival Heat on Friday night at Madison Square Garden after missing action for their Eastern Conference semifinal series last season.
The guard faced Miami in just three of the six playoff games last season because of an ankle sprain in Game 3 after getting tangled up with Bam Adebayo while going for a loose ball.
In the first chance against the Heat this season, Quickley had 20 points behind Jalen Brunson’s 24.
“It was big time,” Quickley said of his performance. “I wanted to be there to help my teammates out last year but obviously didn’t get to do that. So, just to be able to have this game and help my teammates anyway I can, is always great.
“I thought shots we normally make, we were missing a lot. So, that can kind of affect your energy a little bit.”
Quickley’s baskets also were timely, especially the two big 3-pointers he hit in the third quarter after the Heat started the quarter off on a 17-0 run.
Quickley contributed three more deep shots in the fourth quarter to help propel the Knicks’ late 28-9 run to take over the lead.
“Sparkplug,” RJ Barrett said in reference to Quickley’s efforts. “He really got us back in it when we had nothing going.”
“I think he [Quickley] was big in the third quarter. You know, 20-point game. He had a couple threes to just make it [a comeback] reasonable. … From there, we had a shot. The momentum,” Julius Randle said.
Quickley shot 8 of 17 from the field and 4-for-8 from the 3-point line, giving the Knicks a plus 21 points when he was on the court.
His late-game points paired with Brunson’s crucial jump shot while experiencing what looked like a shoulder injury earned the Knicks their 9-6 record and a big win compared to their other victories over non-formidable teams.
“Just the energy, playing off each other,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said about what he saw from Brunson and Quickley in the fourth quarter. “I thought the defensive activity got us into the open floor a little bit more and we need those types of baskets.
“Once we got that going a little bit, I felt like the shots were good.”
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