The New York Knicks may be establishing themselves as more than just an entertaining regular-season narrative. The Knicks’ winning streak has grown to nine games after their 133-131 triumph over the Celtics in double overtime on the road sans Jalen Brunson on Sunday night.
For the first time since 1972–73, the Knicks, who won eight straight games back in December, have now amassed two distinct winning streaks of at least eight games each. They also happened to win the NBA championship that year.
Are the Knicks back?
Are the Knicks genuine contenders for the championship this year? Most likely not. Yet, you cannot discount the fourth-ranked offense in the league, which also boasts the seventh-best point differential. Brunson needs to place in the top 10 for MVP. An All-Star who has been on a tear since the break, Julius Randle was the hero against Miami on Friday. Josh Hart appears to be the final puzzle piece. The Knicks have a true Big Three when RJ Barrett, who had 29 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday, is performing to his All-Star level.
Like no other team in the league, the Knicks adjust their tempo based on who is on the court. Immanuel Quickley, who started for Brunson on Sunday and may have just propelled himself to the top of the Sixth Man of the Year contest with what he did to Boston, is one of the athletes driving that pace.
The Knicks won this game quickly. He finished the game with 38 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and four steals in 55 minutes, as you can see above. Yes, it is what you read. Quickley, a Tom Thibodeau special who clocked in at 55 minutes, continued to exude more enthusiasm than anybody else on the court during the closing minutes of regulation and both overtime periods. He only had one turnover during that entire period. He did not take even a brief break after the break.
The Knicks decided to pull the ball away from Quickley for Randle’s isolation on the final possession after blowing a seven-point lead with less than 1:30 left in regulation. It was a poor choice. It was monotonous and draining of energy as Quickley could move about the court as he pleased. Even though they attempted to do so at the end of the first Overtime, they did not make that error again.
Marcus Smart opened the first overtime with a 3 for the Celtics, who looked to be set to gain control, but Quickley dominated both extra sessions, helping Hart for a huge corner 3-pointer. With 13 seconds left, Quickley made the floater, sending the game into a second overtime.
You will notice the play began with another Randle iso. Still, he was unable to make a shot and had to pass it to Quickley, which resulted in a fortunate outcome for the Knicks that might have been avoided by simply passing it to Quickley in the first place.
Randle has been fantastic this season, especially when scoring alone, and he has been nailing 3-pointers ever since the All-Star break. Yet, Quickley’s game was this. That begs the question: What game was Thibodeau watching, given that everyone watching could see that?
Yet, all’s well that ends well, as Quickley’s five points in the opening minutes of the extra period, which brought the game to double overtime, ensured a positive outcome.
