SummerKnicks 94, SummerPacers 86: Scenes from the Immanuel Quickley point guard experiment going well

Well, so much for this:

Immanuel Quickley got the start at point guard for the Knicks again on Monday in their surprise matchup with the Indiana Pacers, and it’s safe to say he crushed it: 32 points, 8 assists, 2 steals, with 11-21 shooting and 4-12 from three will get it done. He also made Pacers first rounder and reported Knicks trade target on draft night Chris Duarte look like an absolute fool:

So yeah, he might be more of a scoring point guard, but it’s pretty safe to say IQ can play that position. Whether he’ll get to do so much with both Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose in front of him remains to be seen, but good to get those reps in.

Obi Toppin also looked like a man among boys, notching 22 points and 9 rebounds on 8-20 shooting.

And don’t forget the rookies! Deuce McBride cooked up off the bench, joining Obi and IQ as the only Knicks in double figures with 14 points on 5-7 shooting, including a rim rocker to ice the game.

Jericho Sims still has not missed a shot from the field in his Summer League career, by the way — 4-4 for the 58th pick in this game for eight points, to go with nine boards and a steal. He’s now 10-10 from the field in two games.

In other news, Quentin Grimes had a second straight rough shooting outing, going 2-10. Something tells me he’ll benefit quite a bit from the space that Julius Randle and Kemba Walker’s gravity will give him once he gets up to the big club.

Rokas Jokubaitis also got his first minutes as a Knick, notching three points and an assist in nine minutes. He definitely looked a bit out of sorts to start, hammering home the comments he made pre-Summer League about the NBA game being a bit faster than he’s used to. But he seemed to be settling in as the game went on.

All in all, a fun game! The kids seemed to learn from their first game on Sunday and managed to pull out a W in a short notice back-to-back. Next (regularly scheduled) game is this Wednesday against the SummerLakers, which seems like a game they should be favored in. Recap coming later.