There is a well-liked saying courting again to the Nineteen Forties: “You possibly can’t go dwelling once more.” On Saturday night time, former Knicks RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley discovered that axiom’s which means all too effectively.
Of their first sport at Madison Sq. Backyard as members of the Toronto Raptors, Barrett and Quickley suffered by way of a 126-100 loss by the hands of the New York Knicks. The lopsided matchup got here simply three weeks after Barrett and Quickley had been traded together with a second-round choose for OG Anunoby, Valuable Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn.
Barrett and Quickley had been met with an ovation from the MSG crowd throughout pregame introductions, and the Knicks displayed a tribute video of their younger former gamers throughout an early timeout.
“New York must be extraordinarily pleased with [Quickley and Barrett]; they raised them,” Knicks ahead Julius Randle said after the game. “They had been introduced up right here and now they’ll take off and they’ll flourish for a lot of extra years.”
That is about the place the enjoyable ended for Barrett, Quickley and the Raptors, nonetheless, because the Knicks went on a dominant second-half run to show the sport right into a laugher.
For what it is price, each of the Knicks’ former gamers had strong video games. Quickley completed with 12 factors and 11 assists on 4-for-8 taking pictures. Barrett put up 20 factors and eight rebounds in 28 minutes, going 8-for-15 from the sector — although the 80% free throw shooter curiously went 3-for-9 from the stripe, prompting former teammate Julius Randle to seem to shout “I am in his head!” as Barrett missed yet one more freebie.
Randle had each proper to speak, since he completely dominated Toronto with 18 factors, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, logging the 14th triple-double of his profession and eighth as a member of the Knicks — the fourth-most in franchise historical past. To not be outdone, Jalen Brunson delivered one other masterful efficiency with 38 factors and 9 assists on 5-for-11 3-point taking pictures.
In his first sport towards the franchise the place he spent the primary six seasons of his NBA profession, Anunoby completed with 14 factors, seven rebounds and three blocks on 5-for-11 taking pictures. The Knicks at the moment are 9-2 with the 3-and-D wing, and the workforce’s web score has improved by a mind-boggling 41.2 factors per 100 possessions with Anunoby on the ground in comparison with when he sits.
The Raptors are clearly headed in a distinct course after buying and selling Anunoby and Pascal Siakam already this season, with extra strikes probably on the best way. Barrett and Quickley each joined the beginning lineup instantly and have carried out effectively thus far. They need to flank Scottie Barnes for the foreseeable future because the Raptors hope for a speedy rebuild.
