Trade looked good. But not good enough.
It didn’t result in a win, but Derrick Rose cheered the Knicks’ second unit on Tuesday, playing alongside rookie guard Immanuel Quickley in the backcourt.
Coach Tom Thibodeau, however, chose not to close with Rose and the Knicks suffered a heartbreaking 98-96 defeat at Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena.
Rose’s debut in his second Knicks’ stint was a brisk success, as he scored 14 points with three assists in 20 minutes. Rose registered a block and a bargain after not so much having shootaround training with his new club. He shot 5 of 9 – 2 of 3 from a 3-point range.
Trailing 98-96, the Knicks had one last gasp, but RJ Barrett couldn’t convert a driving layup in the closing seconds with Jimmy Butler all over him.
The Knicks have yet to get the chemistry right after the rose trade with the Pistons. They were leading 82-76 after three-quarters but couldn’t stop the Heat.
Quickley’s minutes weren’t affected as expected, but his shot was. Quickley was just 1 of 8 off the field before hitting a key floater with 40 seconds to go to close the gap.
Coincidence or not Julius Randle never got into his All-Star groove either, shooting 4 of 18 for 12 points. Barrett (13 points), who sat on the bench late in the previous game against Miami, didn’t have a particularly good game either, despite the chance to be the last-second hero.
It was 94-94 when Randle shot an open 18-footer at the rear iron from above. Miami’s Tyler Herro, their NBA bubble playoff hero, drained a 3 pointer with 1:04 left. After Quickley’s basket, Randle drove and missed an off-balance jumper from the right with six seconds to go.
Rose got a bit sloppy early in the fourth quarter, with sales and an ill-advised shot blocked. That prompted Thibodeau to use starting point guard Elfrid Payton to close, although Quickley came in at the last minute.
“He just got here today,” Thibodeau said of Rose. So we’re still working our way through things. I just felt we needed people who know what we are doing. I didn’t want to put him in such a situation. “
Payton also played well, scoring 18 points with four assists.
The Knicks, who lost both ends of the house-and-house to drop to 11-15, will have to get chemistry under control.
Rose and Quickley came into play as a tandem with 3:27 across in the first quarter, making it clear that Austin Rivers, who signed in November, was no longer part of the rotation.
With eight points lower, the duo got to work very quickly. Rose found Quickley for a 3 pointer. Quickley found Rose for a 3-pointer. Rose made a bargain, then hit the baseline and made a sensational pass to Burks for a corner 3-pointer.
Then he knocked rookie Obi Toppin out of a pick and roll for the slam.
In Rose’s and Quickley’s first 7:13 backcourt tandem, the Knicks went on a 25-5 run. Rose and Quickley were plus-20 and got the Knicks 12 points ahead. Overall, their point guard game was great on Tuesday as Payton drove his way for 12 points in the first half.
The Knicks couldn’t have an advantage, however, as Miami’s outdoor-firing big man Kelly Olynyk caught fire. He finished with 17 points in the first half, losing 5 of 6 3-pointers when Miami led 57-55.
Before the game, Thibodeau swooned at Rose and still called him an ‘elite’ player, adding, ‘He tells me this is as healthy as he has been. ‘