The Knicks vowed they weren’t looking ahead to two key games later this week, contests that will go a long way toward determining their postseason positioning.
A slip-up against the rebuilding Rockets, the team with the second-worst record in the NBA, simply would not stand.
With a pivotal home game looming Wednesday against the Heat, one of the teams chasing them in the standings for playoff seeding, the Knicks ended a three-game losing streak by pulling away in the second half for a 137-115 win at the Garden.
They also will face Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers, a potential first-round playoff foe, Friday night in Cleveland.
“This was a must win. … Winning definitely solves a lot of things,” Immanuel Quickley said. “We knew the Rockets were going to come in free-flowing, firing. Very skilled team. So, we knew we had to be on our P’s and Q’s, especially defensively and I think we did that.”
Quickley certainly did that in dazzling with a career-high 40 points on 14-for-18 shooting — and even heard some late MVP chants — in his latest start in place of Jalen Brunson, who sat out his second straight game with a heavily wrapped sprained right hand.
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“Everybody has to pick it up when one of your best players is out, whether that be scoring, defense, leadership,” Quickley said. “You miss a lot of things when basically an All-Star is out. Everybody just has to be a little bit better, I think.”
Julius Randle also kept his cool following three straight games with a technical foul and scored 26 points, while RJ Barrett added 19 as Thibodeau’s team improved to 43-33 with six games remaining.
The Knicks remain in the fifth playoff position in the Eastern Conference, 2 ½ games ahead of both the sixth-place Nets and the No. 7 Heat.
“I like the way we came out today, and finally got our defense going in the second half,” Randle said.
Earlier Monday, Randle had chalked up his latest meltdown with the officials to his competitiveness and his desire to win.
The two-time All-Star addressed the media for the first time since drawing his latest technical foul — and arguing with Quickley on his way off the court at halftime — in Thursday’s loss in Orlando.
“Name a perfect leader. Name a perfect human being,” Randle said, adding there’s a fine line between being a competitor and keeping his cool. “At the end of the day, I just want to win and compete and that’s where my focus is. If I’m frustrated that’s where I’m coming from.”
Asked if he apologized after last week’s incident to Quickley, who was trying to pull him out of an argument with referee Leon Wood, Randle added, “I mean, what happens within our team, happens within our team. So I’m not gonna speak on specifics, on how we handle things. But at the end of the day, we’re a team, we’re good, and we’re just focused on winning.”
Quickley and Randle combined for 28 points in Monday’s first quarter, with Quickley’s 3-pointer giving him 13 in the first nine minutes. Randle’s traditional three-point play gave him 15 as the Knicks carried a 36-33 lead through one.
Barrett netted nine points alongside the four-man second unit over the first four minutes of the second quarter to help extend the lead to 10, before a 10-0 Houston run quickly tied the score.
Quickley (22), Randle (17) and Barrett (15) totaled 54 points in the half as the Knicks carried a 66-61 advantage into intermission.
Mitchell Robinson blocked three shots early in the third, and Randle’s trey put the Knicks up by a dozen with 8:40 left in the period.
Long-range buckets by Quentin Grimes (14 points) and Quickley — and then another at the buzzer by Randle — helped the Knicks take a 102-90 lead into the final period.
They pulled away early in the fourth, with Obi Toppin’s one-handed dunk putting them up by 25 and essentially icing it with 8:33 remaining.
“You guys know what I always say about winning. Winning is always way more fun than fun is fun,” Thibodeau said. “It’s the truth. Sometimes you look at where we are, it’s been a challenging month, we’ve had guys out, but I like the way we’re fighting. … And now we get ready for Miami.”
