After starring in an embarrassing performance the previous day against the Clippers, Julius Randle avenged his bad game to command the victory against his former team the Lakers 112-108.
The power forward did not acknowledge the back to back and he went to 33 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists to reach 40 wins in the regular season, a figure that they have only reached three times in the last eleven years, and the second time for Tom Thibodeau since he has been in charge. from the bench
The Knicks ended their 3-game losing streak not without suffering, as they blew an eight-point lead down the stretch, and it had to be Josh Hart who sealed the game with two free throws with 14 seconds remaining.
“We did just enough to win, and Julius (Randle) set the tone from the start,” Tom Thibodeau admitted to ESPN. “It gave us the confidence that, you know, ‘we are here’… We have a very young team, and when you have a very young team and Julius is in his prime, and the only way for them to improve is by working. If they do not work they will not improve », he explained.
Another standout was RJ Barrett with 20 of his 30 points in the second half alone, and Immanuel Quickley contributed 15 points in the absence of the injured Jalen Brunson with a sore left foot.
In the locals, who had the important loss of LeBron James, the recovered D’Angelo Russell was the best exponent with 33 points, seconded by Anthony Davis with 17 points and 16 rebounds.
“It has hurt a lot,” Russell acknowledged. “We were fighting. Trying to do what we could. We didn’t get enough rebounds. We couldn’t stop them… I can’t specify anything. Really. It’s tough,” he acknowledged.
(Cover photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
