Knicks Lose Another Home Game, Immanuel Quickley vs. Memphis

The New York Knicks took a loss in more ways than one on Sunday night.

New York Knicks reserve Immanuel Quickley left Sunday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies early due to knee soreness. 

The third-year pro played nine minutes on Sunday, earning six points (half of them coming on an and-one opportunity) and three rebounds in the early stages of an eventual 127-123 defeat. Shortly after dealing an assist to Cam Reddish, Quickley was replaced by RJ Barrett with 7:52 remaining in the first half and did not return. The team confirmed he would not return during fourth quarter action.

Losing Quickley would be a blow for a Knicks team that has enjoyed solid contributions off the bench. Those efforts have been partly headlined by Quickley, who was averaging 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds over the first 19 games entering Sunday action. 

Despite a drop in his shooting prowess, Quickley's status as an energizer off the bench (not to mention a developing rebounding ability) has reportedly drawn the attention of some suitors after other rumors hinted that the Knicks would be willing to place him on the trade block. Such an evolution likely played into his increased playing time, as Quickley was averaging a career-best 23.4 minutes entering Memphis' visit.

"What you’re seeing is high volume three-point shooting, so a number of long rebounds go to the elbow area,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said of where Quickley has found his rebounding niche. “He has a good anticipation of where it’s going and makes multiple efforts.”

The Knicks' surplus at guard has been a bit unstable over the past week: headliner Jalen Brunson (lack of clutch conversions notwithstanding) has proven himself more than worthy of his $104 million contract and has scored at least 30 points in each of his past three games. But Brunson (quad) was a game-time decision for Sunday's game, which saw Reddish (groin) and Derrick Rose (toe) return from ailments of their own. Reddish more or less assumed Quickley's role, playing 24 minutes off the bench after missing the past three contests. 

Quickley, 23, has stayed very healthy throughout his young NBA career, having missed only six games in his first two seasons. The Knicks (9-11) will surely monitor the situation cautiously as a busy week lies ahead: a pair of back-to-backs await the losers of four of their past five, as they'll go to Detroit on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, MSG) before returning home to battle Milwaukee on Wednesday. Weekend visits await shortly after, with Dallas and Cleveland coming by on Saturday and Sunday respectively. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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