Immanuel Quickley often had the ability to hit the big shot during his four seasons with the Knicks.
He added another one on Wednesday night in Charlotte, N.C.
The 26-year-old Toronto guard hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer and the Raptors rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Hornets 97-96 on Wednesday night.
Quickley, who poured in 21 points, also received some help from RJ Barrett, who also was his teammate with the Knicks.
Barrett finished with 28 points and seven rebounds, while Scottie Barnes chipped in with 17 points as the Raptors won for the fifth time in six games.
Collin Sexton led the Hornets with 22 points.
LaMelo Ball, who scored 15 points, made a driving left-handed layup with 1.6 seconds left to give the Hornets a 96-94 lead.
But Quickley, who was just 2 of 12 from 3-point land before the game-winner, got free off of a side-inbounds play and drilled the shot, drawing a loud collective moan from the home crowd.
“I couldn’t make a shot the whole night,” Quickley told TSN’s Kayla Grey after the game. “Great screen by Scottie (Barnes), Sandro Mamukelashvili got me in the right spot, and that’s why you work all summer, all season, no matter how many shots you missed,” Quickley said. “You’ve got to keep shooting, keep believing.”
Quickley — who is a starter for Toronto, along with Barrett — is averaging 16.2 points per game this season to go along with 6.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds for the Raptors, who are 23-15 and are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
