Toppin hits career highs in points, minutes in first game of second season

Toppin scored 11 points in an eight-minute span that stretch from the third to the fourth quarter.

“I thought he changed the pace of the game,” Knicks guard Kemba Walker told reporters. “He’s a very special talent. He can really run.”

Fans chanted Toppin’s name during the game, something he heard last season during the playoffs.

“Man, to hear your name being chanted at the Garden is amazing,” Toppin said. “It’s an unbelievable experience that I can’t even explain.”

The Knicks drafted Toppin eighth overall in 2020. He averaged 11 minutes per game as a rookie. In four preseason games this month, he saw 19.2 minutes. He topped 20 minutes only twice last season and scored in double figures three times.

Second-year Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said before the season Toppin was a lot better, and Toppin showed it in the first game.

“He’s an incredible athlete,” Thibodeau said. “I think he’s in great shape this year.”