Immanuel Quickley offered a 12-minute tease in the Knicks Indiana season opener, then left with a snazzy pointer.
A week and a half later, when the Knicks returned to Indiana, the rookie guard was finally back.
Quickley made an immediate impression, finishing with nine points in 15 minutes when the Knicks defeated the Pacers, 106-102, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“A little rust of course, but overall very satisfied”, said coach Tom Thibodeau. “Good energy. You can tell he’s smart in terms of drawing errors, which is very important.”
After impressing in the preseason and then missing four games with the injury he sustained when colliding with Myles Turner on December 23, Quickley showed a knack for pushing to the edge and making mistakes along the way, taking he did it thrice in his first nine. minutes in the first half. The general pick of # 25 also cleared a 3 pointer.
“He’s getting his rhythm really fast,” said Thibodeau. “He’s really talented and he’s smart and he’s a great worker. I like his attitude, I like his approach. He will be a very good player in this competition for a long time. “
Thibodeau picked up his first technical foul as head coach of the Knicks with 5:33 left in the third quarter while arguing with a foul on Julius Randle.
“We’re just trying to win,” said Thibodeau. “We try to protect each other, that’s my job, to make sure we get a fair share of the calls.
“Whatever we have to do to win – I don’t like to make technical mistakes and I certainly don’t want anyone to get technical errors in the fourth quarter. So those are difficult to come up with, but usually I have little technical knowledge. “
Austin Rivers, who played in his second game of the season after being sidelined by a groin injury, drove to the edge for a bucket early in the second quarter before falling and bumping his head into the upright. He stayed down for the ensuing possession, but after a time-out holding his neck, he stayed in the game and finished with 15 points.
Veteran security guard Alec Burks (sprained left ankle) missed his third game in a row and is still day to day, but “is making good progress,” said Thibodeau.
Although Quickley’s return helped the Knicks at the point guard, they were still gritty on the position with Frank Ntilikina (sprained right knee) and Dennis Smith Jr. (bruised left quad) that remained.
Rookie forward Obi Toppin (sprained right calf) and Omari Spellman (sore right knee) also stayed out with injuries.