Immanuel Quickley records first NBA triple-double as Knicks win vs. Magic
New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett, center, looks for a shot as he drives to the basket against Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba (5) and forward Ignas Brazdeikis during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 3, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Credit: AP/John Raoux
ORLANDO, Fla. — Immanuel Quickley sprung off the bench in the first quarter Sunday, and it took him less than a minute to slither his way into the lane, draw defenders and rifle a pass to Obi Toppin in the corner for a three-point field goal. On the next trip, he penetrated again, this time dropping in a smooth floater.
Then he attempted a long pass to Toppin but threw it far over his head for a turnover, causing coach Tom Thibodeau to cringe on the sideline.
On this night, however, Quickley drew many more satisfied looks than frowns from Thibodeau, recording his first NBA triple-double to lead the Knicks to a 118-88 win over Orlando.
With the Knicks eliminated from playoff contention and the Magic already in last place in the Eastern Conference and sitting many of their starters, the result seemed like a fait accompli. But Julius Randle likely is shut down for the remainder of the season, and Derrick Rose and Nerlens Noel — like Randle, working their way through injury rehabs — did not even take the flight down for the one-game road trip.
But Quickley still came off the bench, providing a burst of energy until the end as he battled his teammates for that last rebound to get the triple-double. When RJ Barrett grabbed a rebound from him, he joked with his teammate, the lead safely in hand, about his pursuit.
“Man, I was trying to get it,” said Quickley, who had 20 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds and only one turnover in 33:57. “They told me. He’s the one that told me I need two more rebounds, then the next play he takes the rebound. Like, come on. It’s all good, though. It happens, I guess.”
Quickley (22 years, 290 days) is the second-youngest player in Knicks history to record a triple-double, trailing only Kenny Sears (22 years, 140 days).
Did Quickley ever record a triple-double for Kentucky? “I did not,’’ he said. “I didn’t pass enough to get a triple-double at Kentucky.’’
It’s not surprising and not particularly important that he wasn’t starting, given that Quickley logs plenty of minutes playing with all sorts of lineup combinations. But with only three games left after this one, it’s hard to understand why Alec Burks and Evan Fournier aren’t out of the starting lineup in a league in which load management and nights off are the norm.
Quickley has started only two games this season, but in the last 16 games before Sunday, he averaged 26.9 minutes per game, topping 30 minutes four times. He averaged 15.3 points in that span, shooting 44.1% overall and 41.6% from beyond the arc. He averaged 4.3 assists and 1.1 turnovers, up from 2.9 assists and 1.3 turnovers before March 4.
“I thought he gave us a great lift,” Thibodeau said. “To me, it was more how he got the ball moving for us. I think we had 29 assists and he made a lot of good plays. His shot sets things up. But I thought he made a conscious effort to get the ball moving side to side. And any time you get the guard rebounding like that, that allows you to get out into the open floor and run. I want him to continue to do that.”
The points aren’t the point for Quickley. Since entering the league last season, he’s had little trouble scoring, coming off the bench with an instant-offense mentality. But the real question is where he fits. Is he a point guard? A shooting guard? Some sort of combo guard hybrid? And can he ever be the type of lead guard to run a team?
“I’m a center, man,” Quickley joked. “I play center. If the team needs me to play center, point guard, small forward, power forward, that’s what I am. I’m a basketball player. I’ve been trying to tell everybody that. I can handle the ball, pass the ball, shoot the ball, help my teammates get shots, help myself get shots. So that’s what I view myself as, a basketball player.”
“With every player, what do you do well?” Thibodeau said. “Play to your strengths, cover up your weaknesses and you go from there. And how does he fit in with the team? Also, understanding defensively, as a unit, how do you bring the best out of them and cover up weaknesses they may have. You want to play to your strengths, want to play hard, play smart and together. And also [as a point guard] to understand the details of every play. Don’t just run the play, you got to execute the play. It’s a big difference.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
