The Knicks played a phenomenal half of basketball on Wednesday night against the Pacers. Unfortunately, it was the first half and the Pacers are a good basketball team who know how to make adjustments.
The Knicks had a 66-61 lead at half-time but mood soured during half-time when it was announced that rookie Immanuel Quickley would miss the rest of the match after suffering a hip pointer.
Quickley took over for starting PG Elfrid Payton early ineffective and provided a spark once again for the Knicks. Once Quickley left the game, it was all downhill from there. Elf was practically unplayable and the Knicks offensive came to a halt.
The greatest saving grace in all was RJ Barrett’s strong play. The second-year man looked like an All-Star in the first half, losing 20 points on a perfect 8-8 shot. It would only finish 11-15 for 26 points, however – as if that were bad – along with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and only 1 turnover.
Obi Toppin had a weird night, finishing 3-12 from the field – albeit a nice 3-7 from over the arc – and pulled RJ an absolute penny.
Julius Randle played an amazing first half of team basketball, but mostly went back to his usual bullshit when the Pacers walked away.