Magic 111, Knicks 106: Somewhat ugly
The Knicks opened Pandora’s box in Orlando: a lot of bad things and one good one
So, you came to read this?
Quickley was fine. Up and down game. Even Josh Hart had a rough one. No-show from Barrett. Tough looks on and off the court from Randle. Invisible performance from Obi. No Jalen Brunson. Gary Harris hitting threes. Ridiculous turnovers. Interesting officiating. Mo Wagner a +10. Expected Cole Anthony treys. Saving grace of the last two hours of my life was the first letter of every sentence.
Quentin Grimes was a flamethrower from distance early in the first quarter, picking up where he left off in Miami, but he was impacting the game in multiple ways. Point of attack defense, switching, passing lanes, cutting, dunking, offensive rebounds . . . and that was just the first quarter. One of Grimes’ most underrated skills is his quick decision making when he gets the ball – it’s a stark contrast when he plays next to Julius Randle, who’s probably on the other side of that spectrum.
As the game developed, Grimes continued to leave his mark, hitting a crescendo in the third quarter when he led an exciting Knick comeback to tie the game after being down 19 just minutes earlier. Grimes’ finishing at the rim has been great all season, albeit on low volume, but the skill on some of his finishes tonight was eye-opening as he continued to show potential of being a multi-level NBA scorer.
Overall, a somewhat ugly three-game losing streak from the Knicks, but it was at least a good second-half effort on the back half of a road back-to-back. Julius Randle in particular had an absolutely abhorrent first half, culminating in an ugly technical-foul-inspiring spat at the ref and subsequently Immanuel Quickley, but he was a big part of the comeback, too (despite being a clear part of the falling-behind-in-the-first-place). Over the last three games, the Knicks’ opponents shot 51% from three (43/84). Bad defense or bad luck? Whichever helps you sleep at night.
They’ll have a few days off before returning to the Garden for a game they’ll be expected to win against the lowly Houston Rockets - the first of just seven games remaining in the regular season.
