Imagine if the Knicks weren’t completely at a disadvantage when they entered Sunday’s game against the Blazers, a team fresh for the unpredictability of COVID-19.
The Knicks fell 25 points early in the third quarter before the young legs of rookie Immanuel Quickley brought the Knicks back within three points in the last minute.
The Knicks couldn’t complete the comeback, but Quickley’s career-high 31 points made this 116-113 defeat in Portland easier to swallow – especially under the circumstances.
Quickley’s 21-point fourth quarter and his uncanny knack for making mistakes from the 3-point line had even had Portland superstar Damian Lillard yelping at him – seemingly mad at his chicanery.
Quickley said Lillard complained to him that it should have been a two-shot foul.
“It was a little back and forth,” said Quickley. “He’s one of my favorite players. Being able to talk back and forth with him is pretty cool.”
The evening started with Lillard, who finished with 39 points, but ended with Quickley, even in defeat.
“It’s impressive. Again,” said Tom Thibodeau. “I think shotmaking is a huge asset to our team. We need that. He’s getting better with every outing, putting people under pressure”
Not to give the Knicks a full pass for their ghastly first half that ultimately cost them the game, but the first two quarters against the equipped Blazers on Sunday night were a little more understandable given what COVID-19 had accomplished.
“A very big hole,” said Thibodeau. “We put so much effort into trying to get out and we ended up falling short.”
There will come a time when you wonder how fair and legit the ever-changing COVID-19 scheme is.
The Blazers were in training for a week after canceling both games against Memphis because the Grizzlies were in protocols.
A week off to prepare for Knicks, who took to the field for their third game in four nights in the Pacific time zone.
“Moreso this year with COVID, the schedule is against you and sometimes it’s for you,” said Thibodeau. “It usually balances over the year. We want to have the mental toughness to get through everything. This was the situation they had been in for a long time. You deal with what is in front of you. We know we need to bring more to a match to win. ”
At the start, the Knicks looked Western exhausted with no enthusiasm, no passion, and looked very different from Thibodeau’s club that started the journey with a Golden State victory on Thursday.
The horns? They looked like lions released from cages with the apex predator Lillard, who took his first eight shots and got 25 points early in the third quarter.
“I would like to think we have fresh legs, but you never know,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said before the game. “We got some rest. Every time you get a few days without a game to work on things. to work the field and at the same time get peace of mind is quite valuable. ”
With Alec Burks hitting five three-pointers and Quickley doing everything, the Knicks bellowed back. Quickley pulled two three-shot errors on three-point attempts at the end of the fourth quarter.
They essentially did it without RJ Barrett, who has an engine that never stops. But he only took one shot in the first two quarters. That’s not what Barrett has been lately, averaging 21 points in the previous six outings. Thibodeau put him on the bench in the fourth quarter and finished with eight points.
The Knicks, who were the best defensive team in the league, gave the Blazers 70 points in the first half when they were 20 points behind. The Knicks looked exhausted mentally and physically during that 70-50 half.
Quickley admitted that Portland’s week off may have helped.
“You can see how they pushed the ball,” said Quickley. “It’s the way the NBA is now.”
The Knicks’ slump from the Sacramento game carried over to the Pacific Northwest. Thibodeau admitted before the game that he saw some signs of ‘fatigue’ with players ‘not completing their cuts or keeping the distance’.
“But I liked the fight,” said Thibodeau.
And the coach loved the late fight against Portland again, even in a second straight defeat that dropped the Knicks to 8-10.
When the four-game trip ends in Utah on Tuesday, the Knicks will have played 12 of their first 19 games on the road. Thibodeau has said it is an advantage to create bonding.
But for now, the Knicks are holding out with a rookie leading the way.