Like much of the country — especially in professional sports — the Knicks were coping with a COVID-19 outbreak.
Four players were unavailable for Thursday’s 116-103 win in Houston, with Kevin Knox becoming the latest positive test. Adding to these viral infections was a sore ankle to Derrick Rose, who didn’t play in the second half.
The circumstances spread out the opportunities for everybody healthy except Kemba Walker, who racked up another DNP and remains so far at the end of the bench he probably should never look at the scorer’s table.
And on Thursday against the Rockets, youngsters Miles McBride, Mitchell Robinson and Immanuel Quickley took full advantage as the Knicks (13-16) dominated the fourth quarter to snap a four-game losing streak.
McBride, a rookie and second-round pick, logged a career-high in almost every category. He was a reserve to start Thursday but Rose’s injury thrust him into heavy action. The 22-year-old dropped 15 points with nine assists and four steals in 36 minutes.
Quickley caught fire in the fourth quarter and scored a season-high 24 points, nailing 7 of his 10 3-pointers. Five of his treys dropped in the final period. Robinson, who had griped on social media about his role two nights earlier, responded with a season-high 17 points on 8-for-8 shooting with three blocks. He owned the paint down the stretch, as the Knicks outscored the Rockets in the fourth quarter, 32-21.
The Rockets (9-20) are rebuilding and had a miserable start to the season, losing at MSG a month ago to fall to 1-15. GM Rafael Stone nearly fired coach Stephen Silas around that time, according to a source, but the Rockets recovered with a seven-game winning streak.
They were also shorthanded without Christian Wood, Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green.
With RJ Barrett in COVID-19 protocols, Rose started his second straight game but never looked on track. He went scoreless in 12 minutes before the ankle pain became unmanageable.
The reserves dominated the plus/minus stats, with Quickley (+19), McBride (+19), Robinson (+21) and Taj Gibson (+22) all impacting winning. Conversely, the Knicks were outscored with starters Julius Randle (21 points, 6-for-18 shooting) and Evan Fournier (23 points) on the court.
