Immanuel Quickley is settling in nicely with the Toronto Raptors, who have won both games since shaking up their roster in a five-player trade with the New York Knicks.
Quickley and the Raptors hope to maintain that momentum when they continue their six-game road trip against the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
Quickley made five 3-pointers and finished with 26 points in Toronto’s 116-111 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
“He fits great,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It’s a guy that can do so much with the ball. His shooting is really something that makes a difference for us.”
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points in the win over Memphis, while Scottie Barnes had 20 and RJ Barrett finished with 14. Barrett was acquired from the Knicks last Saturday along with Quickley, and the pair has made an immediate impact on the team’s offense.
After coming off the bench for most of his three-plus seasons with the Knicks, Quickley has started both games with his new team. He was held scoreless in the first quarter on Wednesday before finding his rhythm.
“Darko pulled me aside while the game was going on and said: ‘You’re not having fun. Have fun,'” Quickley said. “I’ve never really had a coach do that.”
Toronto split its two meetings last season against Sacramento, which received a much-needed day off on Thursday after beating the Orlando Magic 138-135 in double-overtime on Wednesday.
The game featured 17 ties and 24 lead changes, along with a pair of remarkable performances by Sacramento’s Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis.
Monk scored a season-high 37 points off the bench in the victory, while Sabonis recorded his seventh triple-double of the season with 22 points, a season-best 23 rebounds and 12 assists.
Monk bounced back from a rough outing on Tuesday, when he was held to six points in a 111-104 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. He exchanged words with Sacramento coach Mike Brown during the contest, but both downplayed the conflict after the game.
Brown didn’t hesitate to lean on Monk against Orlando. The Sixth Man of the Year candidate finished 12-of-20 shooting and 7-of-13 from 3-point range in the victory.
“That’s why you want to play basketball, man,” Monk said. “To be in moments like this. Game tied up, overtime, what are you going to do? I live for these moments.”
The Kings also received a stellar performance from Keegan Murray, who had 28 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday’s victory. The second-year forward is averaging 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals.
“I know what I can do on this team,” Murray said. “It’s a process that I know I’m excited for. I know there’s going to be ups and downs with that, so just taking it day by day. Going through the good times, the bad times. I’m just sticking with it. I know I can become a really good player in this league.”
After battling Orlando’s formidable frontline, Sacramento faces another test against Toronto. Siakam has scored at least 24 points in four straight games, and 7-foot center Jakob Poeltl had a season-high five blocks in Wednesday’s win over Memphis.
–Field Level Media