The New York Knicks missed two key point guards – three if you tend to count Elfrid Payton. Newcomer sensation Immanuel Quickley joined Payton and Derrick Rose on the injured list on Tuesday night against the ever-dangerous Orlando Magic. Who would man the point for the Knickerbockers?
It depends on how you define ‘point guard’. Frank Ntilikina technically manned the point, despite a series of terrible shooting performances. But these Knicks are the team of Julius Randle, and he’s going to be the ball with the ball more often. Randle dropped thumbs left and right – 17 to be exact – on his way to his third triple-double of the season (18 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds as the Knicks had just enough in the tank to beat Orlando, 94-). 93, to stop.
Can I talk about Frank for a moment? The Frenchman was mostly unable to capitalize on his recent playing time, and has shot 0-16 of three since the All-Star halftime. The first half was more the same as he was 0-3. But things really turned around in the third quarter. He canned back-to-back tries to end the slide. Then he got a step on Chasson Randle and just kept going all the way to the dang edge.
Knicks fans around the world erupted during the celebration when Frank meant the Garden crowd.
Unfortunately, at the end of the third quarter, the guys loosened up a bit, and the Magic quickly stormed back to take the lead on New York’s worn second unit. But the Knicks took the win through Alec Burks (21 points), Reggie Bullock (20 points) and our son Frank.
Julius Randle hit two more buckets to keep Orlando away, and then Burks went to work.
However, Burks missed the free throw and conceded a try to Evan Fournier. Bullock coughed up the ensuing possession, and Knicks fans pinched their joint hind cheeks.
Luckily, Bullock was ready to fix D.
It was a wild, ugly game. But a win is a win. Summary to come.