Immanuel Quickley scores career high 40 points in blowout victory over lowly Rockets

Three days rest and the lowly Houston Rockets did the trick.

The Knicks got off the schneid by pummeling the Rockets with points in Monday’s 137-115 runaway victory, snapping their three-game losing streak behind Immanuel Quickley’s career evening.

Quickley, playing in the place of the injured Jalen Brunson, finished with a personal-best 40 points, carrying the Knicks through a third-quarter run that forged the cakewalk.

The Knicks stepped on the gas in the final period, and the Rockets — young, disorganized and generally awful — offered little resistance.

The victory was important for two reasons: it reestablished positive vibes by killing the losing streak; and it gave the Knicks a 2 ½ game lead for fifth in the East ahead of the Nets and Heat.

Miami is the next opponent at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, and there were concerns the Knicks might fall victim to a trap game against the sadsack Rockets (18-58).

Instead, the home team (43-33) took care of business.

“I feel like those quote, unquote trap games and those kind of things is what everyone else looks at it as,” Josh Hart said. ” We know we can’t be looking forward to this Miami game because Houston has the ability and talent to go up on us by 20 if we take them lightly. So we know that, we know as competitors, we focus on the next game, focus on the opponent. We’re not looking forward to Miami, not looking forward to what seed we’re going to get in the playoffs. Anything like that.”

Quickley, who shot a remarkable 14-for-18 in 30 minutes, was the catalyst. He was gunning for the career high and remained in attack mode until breaking his previous high of 38 with a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter. Quickley was showered with ‘MVP’ chants and a rousing ovation after his final substitution. Julius Randle added 26 points without exerting much energy in 28 minutes. RJ Barrett dropped 19 points. The final period was extended garbage time.

The highlight defensive play was in the third quarter, when Mitchell Robinson snatched Jabari Smith’s dunk attempt from his hands. It was somehow both a steal and a block.

Before the Rockets became easy fodder, the Knicks’ losing streak coincided with exceptionally poor defense. They had been giving up a ton of 3-pointers, but Monday brought a different issue in the beginning — the Rockets feasted on twos and free throws while shooting 54% overall in the first half, with only four 3-pointers made.

This time, the Knicks, with their legs spry following three days off following their loss in Orlando, dominated the second half.

“I don’t think we needed to take days off to realize that. I think we know what we have to get better at,” Hart said. “It’s always easier to realize that when you lose. Everything is a little bit more apparent. But at this point in the season, you want to get better and get better through wins. Control what we can control and get back to playing our style of basketball.

“We just have to get back to flying around on the defensive end. That’s the biggest thing, honestly. Some teams came in a shot the lights out, sometimes that happens in the league. You go stretches where your defense looks amazing, guys are making shots. And then on the other side, guys are making shots, the defense looks terrible. We just have to get back to playing physical, making sure the other team feels us, running guys off the line.”

BRUNSON OUT AGAIN

Although the Knicks claimed he fully practiced a day earlier (the team doesn’t allow the media to observe any parts of practice), Brunson was ruled out with his sprained right hand.

The point guard sometimes kept his injured hand inside a jacket pocket, but it was clearly covered by a wrap or splint. About 90 minutes prior to tipoff, head coach Tom Thibodeau called Brunson a game-time decision. Brunson, however, never warmed up on the Garden court before he was ruled out.

Thibodeau also claimed Sunday that he didn’t know whether Brunson underwent X-rays or an MRI. The Knicks haven’t made Brunson available to the media since he suffered the injury March 22.

Brunson has missed seven of the last 11 games with either a “sprained hand” or a “sore foot.”

HONORING THE CAPTAIN

It was the first home game since the passing of Willis Reed, and the team unveiled a tribute on their uniforms: a black ribbon on the shoulder areas with 19 — The Captain’s number — in the middle.

Those will remain on the jerseys through this season. There was also a #19 painted on the outskirts of the Garden court near the Knicks bench. Fittingly, the tribute for Reed, a famous alumni of Grambling State, occurred on HBCU night.

A moment of silence preceded the game for Reed, who died on March 21 at 80 years old.

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