DALLAS – Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle knew what his club might be like, with Julius Randle back in his hometown, Big D.
“He’s an All-Star who likes to come back to play here,” Carlisle said before the game.
And how. Friday was Randle’s best game so far – and one of the Knicks’ most impressive wins this season.
It was a week full of return games for Randle and ended with a spectacular 44-point outing, leading the Knicks to a stunning 117-109 victory over the Mavericks in the face of a pandemic crowd of 4,000 fans. the American Airlines Center.
The Knicks won their fifth straight game of the season in a row to go into a season high with three games over 0.500 at 30-27, and Randle missed a career-high tie. The Knicks, who are 3-1 against their former star Kristaps Porzingis in the last two seasons, have not won five in a row in seven years.
“Actually, I was a little tired before, but I had a few smoothies, I got some energy,” Randle said. “I was closed, focused. I always like to play at home before friends and family. It’s always special to me. ”
If the Knicks hadn’t changed Porzingis, who shot 8-for-20 for 23 points, he probably would never have signed Randle. But a fight of Knicks dressed in blue hung after the final buzzer and they cheered and shouted encouragement to Porzingis, who went to the sidelines to wave, smile and show.
But Randle made many other Knicks fans forget about the Latvian, who was overtaken by Randle. Knicks fans in the crowd chanted “MVP,” while the Dallas native threw free throws in the final seconds.
“The way he plays games is rarely covered by himself,” said coach Tom Thibodeau. “He does well, he wins plays. He is our engine. He makes us leave. ”
RJ Barrett added 24 points with a clutch in the fourth quarter. Knicks center-back Nerlens Noel, playing on a painful ankle, was bloody, with 10 rebounds and three blocks. He also hit Porzingis hard and hit two crucial free throws with 2:10 left.
Thibodeau enjoyed Noel’s block on the edge of Dorian Finney-Smith, who had the bench banging for joy in the fourth quarter.
“Blocked shot, many games during a game are winning games that ignite and inspire the team,” said Thibodeau. “When you see such a player, your people are fired.”
This week, Randle won revenge against his first NBA team, the Lakers, in which he scored 34 points and won a victory against his second team, the Pelicans, with 32 points. Randle will face the pelicans again on Sunday.
“The way they did the program, you knew he was going to do it,” Barrett said of Randle.
But he saved all the best for last – looking even sharper and fresher on Friday, as if he were playing the first game of his season instead of the 56th contest of his season.
It all started in Dallas during the pandemic of 13 months ago, when Randle fought in the best shape of his career.
“He’s prepared for that,” Thibodeau said. “It simply came to our notice then. I know when I first saw the shape it was in the summer. I’ve had that kind of player in my career and I’m always training out of season so I can handle that amount of work. They have great attention. ”
Randle shot 16-for-29 – and 6-for-11 from the 3-point range. The All-Star freight train scored the first 10 points of the Knicks and started the game 4-for-4, bringing their triples and going to the basket.
He accumulated 15 points in the first quarter and managed 21 at the break, the Knicks leading 56-52 at the break. He was 9-for-12 on the field – and 3-for-7 of 3.
Randle had 35 points after three quarters, but when he rested, he was critical early on in Barrett’s fourth quarter.
Frank Ntilikina, stimulated in action by the absence of Alec Burks (who is part of the COVID-19 protocols), also hit a big 3-pointer.
Porzingis received a technical foul and was frustrated by Noel’s physical play in the first half. Reggie Bullock also made a number on Luka Doncic, keeping him at 22 points, but with 19 decisive passes in his career.
This was Knicks’ first game without Burks, which went on and on and on.