Knicks 131, Pacers 114: Scenes from the Obi Toppin dunk-a-thon

The haters and the losers will say it’s only preseason, but Obi Toppin looks ready for a bigger role with the Knicks. He showed his quality yet again on Friday night, demolishing the Indiana Pacers with a flurry of dunks and threes.

The Pacers made a game out of it in the third quarter despite a strong first-half showing from RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson. But the entire starting lineup went ice cold in the second half, and Indiana cut a 20-point lead down to eight. Again, this is preseason, so none of this really matters. Still, Obi came into the game late in the third and basically said “enough of this shit.”

We begin with perhaps the most impressive highlight of his young career. Watch the block on the three-point attempt, followed by an insane breakaway jam. Most impressive, however, is the way he clowned Knick-killer TJ McConnell at the end.

An extended look...

Obi wasn’t finished. He kept dunking on the Pacers until he broke their spirits.

Then, he rained down a couple of threes on them.

Then, he dunked on them one more time, for good measure.

Obi dropped 24 points in 20 minutes on 10-14 shooting (4-7 from three). He’s good. He should play more.

Recap to come.