The anticipated Garden debuts of Knicks first-round picks Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley will have to wait.
The two rookies were held out of Saturday’s 109-89 home loss to the 76ers, Toppin with a calf injury and Quickley with a hip pointer. Both injuries were suffered during Wednesday’s season-opening defeat at Indiana.
An MRI exam confirmed that Toppin suffered a strained right calf. The No. 8 overall pick will be reevaluated in 7-10 days. Quickley (25th overall) has been listed as day-to-day, according to coach Tom Thibodeau, but also will miss Sunday’s game against the Bucks.
“We felt there would be some injuries due to the long layoff,” Thibodeau said after the game. “[Toppin’s injury] is a strain, so what he has to do is get in, get treatment a couple times a day, study, put as much time into film work as possible, spend some time with strength and conditioning, that sort of thing.
“So, we’ll take advantage of it that way. You’ve got to make the best of your circumstances.”
Guard Austin Rivers (sore groin) and forward Omari Spellman (sore right knee) also were unavailable for the Knicks.
Rivers missed the chance to face his father — Sixers coach Doc Rivers — for the first time with their new teams. Thibodeau said Rivers is “doing a little more each day, but he still hasn’t taken contact yet.”
Theo Pinson (two minutes Saturday) appeared in 51 games for the Nets over the past two seasons before the Knicks claimed him off waivers in June and signed him to a two-way deal in November.
The third-year swingman out of North Carolina had an inside view of Kevin Durant’s hard work during rehabilitation from Achilles surgery last year in Brooklyn. Pinson said he’s not surprised by KD’s quick start alongside Kyrie Irving with the Nets (2-0).
“The dude has an unbelievable work ethic, something that you can’t really explain, you’ve just gotta see it yourself,” Pinson said of Durant. “What you see is what you get, really good dude.”