Knicks cut 25-point third-quarter deficit to three in loss to Portland

When the Knicks lost Friday in Sacramento, there was talk after the game about the need to play harder than the opponent every night.

That wasn’t the case in the first half Sunday night against Portland. It would be hard to argue that the Knicks gave it all they had in the early going against the Trail Blazers, and they fell behind by as many as 25 points early in the third quarter.

They didn’t give up, but a too-little, too-late comeback left them with another hard defeat, this one a 116-113 loss that dropped them to 8-10 at the quarter pole of the season.

Knicks rookie Immanuel Quickley scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and finished with a career-high 31 points in 24 minutes off the bench, shooting 5-for-8 from three-point range.

"It’s impressive,’’ coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Again, I think that shot-making is a huge asset for our team. That’s something that we need. Shooting is what opened up the floor for us. His all-around play, he gets better with each outing, puts pressure on people. Defensively, he’s learning, and as time goes on, he’ll get better and better at it.’’

This game provided more ammunition for the debate of whether the Knicks should continue to give starter Elfrid Payton the bulk of the minutes over Quickley.

"I feel like my teammates and coaches give me a lot of confidence,’’ Quickley said. "Whether I make the shots or miss the shots, I try to go out and play hard, play team ball, just be aggressive. When I’m aggressive offensively, defensively, that’s when I’m at my best.’’

Julius Randle added 25 and Alec Burks had 18 for the Knicks, who outscored Portland 63-46 in the second half after being outscored 70-50 in the first.

Portland’s Damian Lillard had 39 points and eight assists and extended his free-throw streak to 66 in a row by going 11-for-11.

From the very start, the Trail Blazers destroyed the Knicks on both ends, particularly on the offensive side. Lillard scored 15 points in their 37-point first quarter. The Knicks, who entered the game No. 1 in the NBA in points allowed per game, were spectators on this night.

The Knicks fell behind 77-52 less than two minutes into the third quarter but moved within 96-91 on Quickley’s three-pointer with 7:13 left in the game.

But Quickley misfired on another three, Robert Covington scored on a drive and Lillard delivered a long three-pointer to lift Portland’s lead to 10.

The Knicks repeatedly double-teamed Lillard to take the ball out of his hands and closed the deficit to four, but Carmelo Anthony sank a pair of free throws with 30.6 seconds left.

Quickley drew a foul from beyond the arc with 16.6 seconds left and hit three free throws to cut the deficit to three. But as he hit the third free throw, Randle inadvertently hit Covington in the face while battling for rebounding position. He was whistled for a foul — originally called a flagrant but switched to a common foul after the Knicks challenged the call — sending Covington to the line for two free throws as Randle fouled out.

"Yeah, they told me they got it wrong after the game,’’ Randle said. "After they review it, they said it should have been two shots — a loose-ball foul — two shots my way and a technical foul, which is three points and we lost by three. Tough break. Officials are not always going to get it right. We’re not always going to be right. That was tough, but just move onto the next one."

Quickley fed Mitchell Robinson for an alley-oop dunk and it was a three-point game again. But Lillard added two more from the line with 5.3 seconds left — his 65th and 66th straight made free throws — to ice the victory.

Lillard hit his first eight shots from the field — including 4-for-4 from beyond the arc — and was 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Finally, with 7:24 left in the third quarter, he misfired. But even then, the Blazers grabbed the offensive rebound and fed Lillard, who floated a bank shot over Robinson.

For the Knicks — and Payton in particular — the four-game road trip has presented a challenge for the defense. The journey began with a matchup with Stephen Curry at Golden State; Curry scored 30 points, but the Knicks got the win. The next night, De’Aaron Fox scored 22 as the Sacramento Kings beat the Knicks. On Sunday night, it was Lillard. The trip ends Tuesday against Utah and its backcourt of Mike Conley Jr. and Donovan Mitchell.

Thibodeau has stressed that it is never one defender who gets the credit or the blame, but Payton is well aware that he is the one under the microscope.

"This is the NBA," Payton said Sunday afternoon. "Guys are really good. No one’s really stopping anybody by theirself. So every night Coach talks about it — this is something you all know — it’s never just an individual matchup, whether you’re going against a great or going against a great , a great wing player. It’s going to take a team effort to help that guy with that matchup. I agree with Coach."

Notes & quotes: Frank Ntilikina was available for the first time since the fourth game of the season, when he sprained his right knee. "There was a progression to his comeback," Thibodeau said. "So he’s got some contact on this trip.We’ve had an opportunity to get some practices in. And even situations when he can get work in three-on-three with some of the guys who haven’t played big minutes and try to take advantage of that as well. And so he has gotten some contact, but conditioning-wise, he’s probably not quite ready yet."

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

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.