An expensive weekend due to Mitchell Robinson’s injury still resulted in two major victories against Knicks opponents.
Immanuel Quickley connected on four triples and scored 22 points, while substitutes Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson played well in the first game without Robinson, as the depth of the Knicks led them to a convincing 121-99 victory. Saturday night against the Rockets in the garden.
Derrick Rose contributed 16 points off the bench as the Knicks (13-15) took advantage of Victor Oladipo’s absence in Houston from a foot and ankle injury, as they spent the night before against the Wizards without that NBA leader Bradley Beal scored.
Julius Randle also added 22 points and Elfrid Payton added 15 for the Knicks, who will host the Hawks on Monday. John Wall led the Rockets (11-15) with 26 points, while Eric Gordon finished with 24.
With Robinson facing the odds of surgery after breaking a bone in his right hand during Friday’s win in Washington, Noel made his first start of the season and finished with 10 points and six rebounds in a maximum of 32 minutes. Gibson replaced Noel in the second unit and contributed four points and five boards in 16 minutes.
“Our headlines and our bench are similar in many ways,” said Tom Thibodeau, Knicks coach. “Individual strengths are a little different with each guy. But as for the team, it can be said that all the boys in the second unit can start ”.
Noel managed to average just 17.5 minutes per game from the bench, but ranks fifth in the league with 2.0 blocked shots per game.
Noel converted Randle’s first alley-oop pass, and Reggie Bullock buried three triples during a 16-3 run to get an eight-point Knicks cushion in the middle of the first quarter. His second unit, with Gibson replacing Noel, closed the period with buckets from rookies Quickley and Obi Toppin (11 points) with a 30-25 lead.
The lead was extended to 14 with a 15-4 jump, with the back-to-back tandem of Rose and Quickley adding nine points. The duo finished with seven in the half, and the Knicks led up to 17 as they took a 63-47 lead at the break.
It was the third straight game with the Knicks for Rose since it was acquired last weekend in Detroit. He even studied videos with assistant coach Andy Greer at the Tarrytown team’s training facilities after the Knicks returned home from Washington on Friday night.
“He’s a great student of the game,” Thibodeau said. “It simply came to our notice then. I think this is what has allowed him to adapt, grow and change. I think you see it with a lot of players who are dominant players. They are constantly being added to your game.
“It simply came to our notice then. I think he has spent a lot of time trying to understand his new teammates and what his strengths are and how he can use them better effectively. ”
Randle finished the half with 13 points and Noel added eight on a 4-on-5 shot as the Knicks shot 52.2 percent from the ground and committed only one turnover during the first two quarters.
The Knicks were neglected in the third, making four first changes, which allowed the Rockets to reduce the lead to five in the absence of 3:40. Wall bounced back 15 in the fourth, but a Noel hit and two Quickley triples propelled the Knicks to a 87-75 lead entering the final quarter.