Immanuel Quickley fell face down on the field and made a swimming motion with his arms and legs after nailing his third of five three-pointers on Friday night.
The exciting rookie point guard helped the Knicks make their way back upstream after three consecutive losses to end their recent road trip, scoring 25 points in 23 minutes off the bench, including 14 in the fourth quarter, in a 102-81 win over Cleveland in the yard.
The Knicks (9-11) held All-Star big man Andre Drummond to just four points – albeit with 15 rebounds – in another strong defensive effort, despite nine combined fouls between centers Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel.
Darius Garland had 24 points for the Cavaliers, who scored only 37 in the first half and 55 to three-quarters. The 81 points were the second fewest points these Knicks gave up this season, behind only the 75 points that the Celtics held on to on January 17.
RJ Barrett contributed 24 points, Austin Rivers added 13 from the bench and Julius Randle finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Knicks, who will meet the Los Angeles Clippers at home on Sunday.
Quickley, who continues to push starting point guard Elfrid Payton (two points in 23 minutes) for playing time, also set the Knicks’ first four-point game of the season to go with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. The 25th overall pick from Kentucky had just 1-for-11 shot off the floor in Tuesday’s loss in Utah, one game after hitting a career-high 31 in the previous game in Portland.
Robinson had said before the game that he was focused on his match with Drummond, who dominated in a 106-103 win over the Knicks on January 15 with 33 points and 23 rebounds.
“Oh sure. Tonight I’m going to play a lot smarter. I’m going out here and going after it, give my best,” said Robinson, who scored six runs and committed five errors on Friday evening.
Robinson was also min-15 in Tuesday’s loss in Utah, surpassed on statistics by All-Star center Rudy Gobert (18 points and 19 rebounds).
Asked if he envisions eventually putting on songs like Drummond and Gobert’s, Robinson added, “I know I can defend. I don’t really compare myself to other players. I mean, I’m concerned about our team. Other players can talk about what they want to talk about. I’m just talking about us as Knicks. “
The Knicks missed eight of nine shots and saw Cleveland take a quick 13-3 lead, but Rivers and Quickley combined for a dozen runs on a 16-4 run for a two-point lead by the end of the quarter.
Randle didn’t attempt a field goal until there were four minutes left in the second quarter, but his 19-foot jumper, two dunks from Robinson, put the Knicks at 38-31. Two drives and a corner three from Barrett extended the Knicks lead to 14, and they had a 47-33 lead at half time.
Drummond had only four runs in the half, but Noel was whistled for three fouls and Robinson had two, leading to veteran Taj Gibson’s first appearance – albeit for just one minute – since he signed on to return to the Knicks on January 7. .
The Cavs shot just 29 percent off the floor, hitting 2-for-10 from 3-point range through two quarters, but Sexton and Garland combined for 16 points in a 19-2 wave to open the third to the hole to 52. -49.
However, the Knicks warmed up again with a 12-1 run to finish the quarter, including a baseline dunk for a three-point game from Quickley and a late three from the rookie point guard for a 72-55 lead into the fourth.