Knicks rout Raptors after fans at Garden laud RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson reacts in the second half of an NBA game against the Raptors at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
As the player introductions began Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, the crowd loudly booed the first name, Gary Trent. The boos grew louder for Scottie Barnes and Jontay Porter. Then, after a brief pause, it all changed, with the fans standing and cheering loudly for Immanuel Quickley and deafeningly loud for RJ Barrett.
There isn’t a championship banner to commemorate their time in New York. There are no All-Star appearances or All-NBA honors. But for two homegrown former first-round picks, the return to the Garden three weeks after being traded to the Raptors came with nothing but love.
Once the game began, the sound began to shift. There was no animosity toward the former Knicks, but the crowd instead focused on its own — chanting “MVP!’’ relentlessly for Jalen Brunson, cheering on Julius Randle as he posted his first triple-double of the season and celebrating another win as the Knicks beat Toronto, 126-100.
Barrett had 20 points and Quickley had 12 points and 11 assists, but the night — and the present — belonged to the Knicks (26-17). Brunson had 38 points and nine assists and Randle had 18 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists (and seven turnovers).
“Love those two,” Brunson said. “Being teammates with them the past couple of years has been special. Great character dudes. They both work really hard. Everything you want in a franchise player. Toronto has a couple good dudes over there. I wish them nothing but the best.”
“Those guys are special talents,” Randle said. “It’s a special relationship I’ve built with them. I know they talk about how much I meant to them, but they mean a lot to me, to be honest.”
The Knicks fell behind by 11 midway through the first quarter, but they tied it by the end of the period and took over from there, stretching a two-point halftime lead to as many as 28.
During the first timeout, the Knicks played a tribute video for the two, drawing another ovation from the crowd. Barrett raised an arm to acknowledge the cheers. Quickley never looked up, having moved on to the task at hand, skipping up the court after hitting his first shot.
“It was amazing,” Barrett said. “Thank you to the fans, for sure. We got a tribute video; I didn’t think we were gonna get that. That was cool. I’m very appreciative, appreciative of my time here. To come back had a lot of emotions, for sure. But it was fun to come back and play basketball here again.”
While it has been a win-win trade in theory, with both franchises happy with the return in the deal, it has been much more of a win-now proposition for the Knicks, who are 9-2 since acquiring OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn for the two long-time Knicks.
In Toronto, it has been a different story, but a different goal. Barrett and Quickley are part of the future, along with Scottie Barnes, but little else is certain. On Wednesday, the Raptors traded two-time All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam, and team president Masai Ujiri said Thursday that more trades certainly are on the way. One of those players who could be on the move is Bruce Brown, acquired in the Siakam deal. The Knicks were one of the teams that were interested in him in the summer.
“That’s the challenge of our league,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said before the game. “There’s constant change. You have to adapt quickly.”
Barrett signed autographs, said hellos to the crowd and promised he’d post a farewell message once the game was over. He raced over as Randle was warming up, embracing him in a bear hug. Quickley made a pilgrimage to offer hugs and hellos to Knicks executives and coaches, hugging Thibodeau before the start of the second half.
Barrett had expressed uncertainty about how he would be received on his return, but there was no need to worry. Kristaps Porzingis was loudly booed when he came back to the Garden during Barrett’s rookie season — a reception that has continued to this day after the Knicks spread rumors at that time about why they had to deal their former lottery pick.
This iteration of the front office did no such thing this time, praising the work of two players who helped them move from a long-time lottery team to a team that became a playoff series winner last season — and one that is talked about as a possible contender with Anunoby’s arrival.
That’s for another day, but getting through this one was something different, and if Barrett and Quickley learned anything from Thibodeau, it is to focus on the task at hand.
“It was cool, honestly,” Barrett said. “Play against all the guys and see what it’s like on the other side. Had fun, competed, looking forward to many more battles.”
Now both sides can move on.
“A little closure, I guess, in a sense,” Randle said. “But for me, the relationship is gonna go on forever. I’m tuned in. I’m locked in every night to what those guys are doing, how they’re playing, because I want the best for them.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
