The Knicks finished their dismal season with a win, a sellout crowd, another career-high explosion by Obi Toppin and another triple-double from Immanuel Quickley.
After scoring 35 points Friday in Washington, the 2020 lottery pick rang up 42 points as the Knicks took out the playoff-bound Raptors, 105-94, before 19,812 at the Garden.
Meanwhile, the Knicks’ other 2020 first-rounder, Quickley, starting in place of injured RJ Barrett, pumped in a career-high 34 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
Toppin drove Quickley to the game and claimed they both predicted great things.
“We was coming to the game, and he was sitting in the car saying, ‘I’m about to go crazy,’ ” Quickley said. “And I said, ‘I’m going to go crazy, too.’ So we both went crazy.’’
With 1:05 left, Toppin soared over the 40-point mark with three free throws after he got fouled on a corner 3 as the Garden fans chanted the familiar “O-BI.” The fans chanted his name until the final buzzer.
“I just feel real confident,’’ Toppin said. “We had a lot of fun today. We went into the last two games like, ‘Let’s not ruin anything, and let’s not embarrass ourselves. Let’s win these last couple of games,’ and we did it.’’
The Knicks’ final record stands at 37-45 — going 12-7 in their last 19 games but falling well short of the postseason. Toronto, which rested its top two players in Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, head to the playoffs as the East’s fifth seed.
The Knicks head home but with hope Toppin has turned a corner as he shot 16-for-28 — draining 6 of 14 3-pointers and flushing an array of dunk-contest jams.
Starting for Julius Randle across the final five games, Toppin finished out the season scoring 20, 20, 19, 35 and 42. Randle shut it down after the Knicks were bounced from contention.
Before the game, Knicks president Leon Rose broke his silence on MSG Network to assure the fans things are on track.
“We have to stick to the plan, we have to build one block at a time, be patient,’’ Rose said. “We feel like we’re set up, you know, really well as far as like, we’ve got 13 draft picks over the next three drafts, four first-round picks. With regard to opportunities that may come along, we’re very flexible. We want to show prudence in making those decisions and continuing to develop what we have.’’
