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Mitchell who?
Nerlens Noel made a nice approximation of injured Knicks center Mitchell Robinson. Immanuel Quickley made compatriot Kentucky Wildcat John Wall even more proud, hitting his first six shots and hitting big 3 points in the second half as the Rockets rallied.
Quickley finished with a spectacular 22 points, draining seven of nine shots – four of six of 3. Julius Randle was Julius Randle.
Derrick Rose, playing in front of former Knicks coach / current Rockets assistant Jeff Hornacek, was sharp for a third straight game, adding 16 more points.
The Knicks played their most perfect first half of a season in Game 1 without Robinson and ended up with a wonderful 121-99 rout over the Rockets at a Garden that will allow fans to enjoy that in 10 days.
The triumph capped a tremendous Valentine’s Day weekend with back-to-back breakouts from Washington and Houston that pulled the Knicks 0.500 closer to 13-15 – seventh in the conference. Basketball New York begins to fall in love with the Scrappy Knicks, especially Quickley.
This ruined Wall’s first game at the Garden since December 3, 2018, while he was with the Wizards. Yeah, it’s been so long.
The newest member of the Rockets is thrilled to be back and thrilled that another point guard from Kentucky is doing it. Wall was dazzled with 26 points in the loss.
“He’s someone I respect,” Wall said of Quickley ahead of the game. “I am very happy for him to have the opportunity. I’m glad he’s showing people he’s more than just a shooter. This is what people largely thought. The way he’s run the point guard has been good. It’ll be good to go against him.
Wall, who played for Kentucky in 2009-10, still keeps a close eye on John Calipari’s schedule. And the longtime wizard got to know the Knicks rookie playmaker, who is originally from Baltimore and played two seasons for Kentucky.
Even after Saturday’s loss, Wall made sure to cheer on Quickley.
“He told me I was having a good season, he told me to keep working,” said Quickley. “And stay with that. It’s a long season but continues to improve every day. ”
Wall visited Kentucky last season while in rehab, catching the Wildcats game against Florida. Quickley scored a career-high 26 points with Wall watching and they made a video together. This time, he arrived at 22 points.
“It was cool,” Quickley said after his big second half outing. “We’re bleeding blue. It was part of my development. By giving me encouraging words. It’s good to see him on the ground. ”
In fact, Quickley admitted to the Lexington Herald-Leader that he was interested in the Wildcats because of Wall.
“Obviously everyone knows John Wall,” Quickley said in 2016. “He can go up and down the court in three, four dribbles. And it involves everyone. This is just one of the many John Calipari custody points that I have looked at.
Wall is particularly proud of Quickley.
“I’ve seen him play in Baltimore before,” Wall said before facing the Knicks. “I spoke to him before he went to Kentucky. We did a little video together when I watched them play last year. “
Quickley came off the bench for the Knicks in the first 28 games, and his career received another shock with the arrival of Rose. Social media worried Rose would negatively affect Quickley’s minutes. On the contrary.
Coach Tom Thibodeau made Rose and Quickley a tandem in the backcourt on the bench, and it was a success.
“I learn a lot of things [from him]Quickley said. “I don’t want to give it away because I’m going to take a lot of stuff with me throughout my career. So really just his energy. He’s a dog, an alpha dog, he’s a leader. It’s great to have someone like that in my corner. ”
Saturday’s first two quarters were a masterpiece as the Knicks took a 63-47 lead. They scored when they wanted to. They didn’t commit their first turnover until 57 seconds left of half-time, when Randle tried to find Noel and sent him out of bounds.
Randle was certainly looking for his new starting cross, Noel, now that Robinson could be out for six weeks with a broken hand.
Robinson watched from the second row of the bench in a white shirt and a white cast on his right hand – probably facing surgery.
Wall, did not play last season and saw his 2018-19 season cut short by a heel injury before a torn Achilles. Quickley had a great mentor to Wall, and now the torch has passed to Rose.
“It’s his ability to get the best out of everyone around him,” Thibodeau said of Rose.
“They are a hard playing team,” Wall said entering the game. “You know how Thibs plays [his teams]. Julius [Randle] is playing well, and D-Rose just went over there and we all know what it’s about. It’s a good team on the rise. ”
The Knicks proved it on Saturday.
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