Six Pack: Obi Powers Knicks to Second Straight Preseason Victory

Through two games, the Knicks are hooting 88% from the FT stripe and NY's starters have posted a 26-to-5 assist-to-turnover ratio.

While Max Scherzer and the Mets were getting pounded in Queens, the other orange and blue team in New York City was putting the finishing touches on another impressive preseason outing. 

The Knicks beat up on the Pacers Friday night at the Garden, 131-114. Here are six takeaways from New York's second consecutive exhibition victory. 

🏀 Obi Lights Up Broadway:

As of April 1, 2022, with just five games left in the 21-22 campaign, Obi Toppin had never scored more than 19 points in an NBA game. Remember, he logged more than 19 minutes just twice in his entire rookie season.

Up to that point, Toppin had appeared in 129 career games. In those 129 contests, Toppin averaged 5.9 points in just 13.3 minutes a night.

However, with Julius Randle sidelined, Obi was finally given an opportunity to show and prove. And he did just that. Toppin started each of the Knicks' final five contests last season and averaged a whopping 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 made three-pointers, 2.8 assists and 1.0 blocks. The only other player in the NBA to average more than 27 points, six boards, and three made triples last April was Mavs superstar Luka Doncic. 

That Toppin showed up Friday evening and sent MSG into hysterics. Obi finished with a game-high 24 points (on 10-of-14 shooting), three rebounds, two blocks and four triples (on seven attempts) in just 20 minutes of action. He did most of his damage in the second half, when he put on an otherworldly dunking display, frequently leaking out and getting easy buckets in transition, including his signature dunk, an in-game East Bay:

"I've seen a lot of great dunks, but that was ridiculous," IQ said afterward. "The fact that he did that with someone right between his legs. It was a crazy dunk. That was impressive, very, very impressive."

The good news for head coach Tom Thibodeau is that his young, promising power forward looks primed to take another leap. The bad news for Thibs is that fans now have a taste for what Obi can bring to the Garden on a nightly basis, and they are hungry for more. I (only half-jokingly) tweeted last night that Thibodeau should be careful playing Obi too many minutes in the preseason, or he'll risk fans rioting if Toppin doesn't see the same amount of playing time during the regular season.