The Knicks were behind the eight ball Thursday night in Houston, up against a red-hot Rockets club without the services of RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin and Quentin Grimes (Kevin Knox was out, too). Things got worse when Derrick Rose — arguably their best player this season — went down with an ankle injury in the first half. The Knicks let a 16-point lead slip away, and they were in desperate need of a savior.
They got Miles McBride and Immanuel Quickley.
The kid known as “Deuce” made his presence felt from the moment he checked in. He was a menace in the passing lanes, racking up four steals. And he was clicking from beyond the arc in the first half, dropping 11 points before the break.
With Rose declared out for the rest of the night, Deuce started at PG in the third quarter. He didn’t score as much, but he was still pretty damn relentless.
The real revelation in the second half was his passing. Deuce finished with 9 assists and 0 turnovers. Check out this sweet dish to the cutting Mitchell Robinson.
This will probably go down in history as the Deuce Game, but we shouldn’t forget IQ, who put the Rockets to bed with five fourth-quarter threes. IQ finished with 24 points.
Shout out to Uncle Taj Gibson, who played out of position at the 4 (he’s not a 4 anymore, guys) against athletes practically half his age. He finished with a team-high plus-22.
Fun game. Play Deuce more. Recap to come.
