Immanuel Quickley had a season opener to forget against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, as the young guard went scoreless in 17 minutes on 0-of-6 shooting without recording an assist.
But the Kentucky product turned things around in a huge way in Friday’s home opener against the Detroit Pistons, scoring a team-best 20 points off the bench while adding seven rebounds and seven assists in the Knicks’ dominant 130-106 win.
“I really just trust in God’s plan and I trust in my work, so I don’t feel like I have to press if I go 0-for-6, 0-for-10, it doesn’t really matter,” Quickley said after the game. “As long as I know that I’m doing all the right things, I don’t skip steps every day, come in work, do what I need to do, watch the film and see where I need to go better, and you just live with whatever happens.”
Quickley was part of a very balanced attack by the Knicks on Friday night, as six players finished in double figures and the Knicks played a very unselfish brand of basketball, racking up 29 assists compared to just 12 turnovers.
By spreading the ball around and keeping their turnover numbers down, the Knicks were able to get out and run, resulting in 20 fastbreak points and 21 points off Detroit turnovers.
“Just pushing the ball, energy, the ball was finding everyone, the ball was hopping, defense was clicking rebounding – when we do that I feel like that’s gonna be at our best. I just feel like all that together was really good for us,” said Quickley.
“That’s what happens when you get stops, just put you on the open floor. That’s when we’re at our best, when everybody can get out in transition. That’s when we’re at our best when everyone can just accel on the break without having to run a play.”
“The playmaking was great,” added head coach Tom Thibodeau. “When you play the game that way, the game is easy for everyone, but it requires a lot of energy and it requires sacrifice. It’s not just playing fast and you don’t want to take reckless shots, but you’ve got to move without the ball and you’ve got to move with pace. So, getting [the ball] up fast is the initial part but the movement is the secondary part that’s equally important."