Julius Randle stressed that the Knicks “must definitely take advantage” of the fact that NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal did not play for the Wizards on Friday night.
Randle, a potential All-Star striker, is back on track after one of the worst offensive games of the season, with 24 points and 18 rebounds this season to lead the Knicks to a 109-91 victory at Washington.
The win came at a price, however, as starting center Mitchell Robinson fractured his right hand late in the second quarter after scoring a double-double, with 10 points and 14 rebounds in less than 20 minutes. game.
“We feel for him, but we have to prepare for the next one. As you know, the games keep coming, “said coach Tom Thibodeau about Robinson, who will be reevaluated on Saturday in New York. “I thought it was Nerlens [Noel] stepped in and did a great job in the second half, and that’s the great value of having a guy like Taj [Gibson] on the list.
“So, the next man upstairs. We have to circle the wagons and be ready to leave. ”
Derrick Rose contributed 14 points and six assists with four steals in 20 minutes from the bench in his second game back with the Knicks (12-15) after being acquired by the Pistons on Sunday. Rookie Immanuel Quickley scored 16 points and Elfrid Payton finished with 12.
The Wizards’ Russell Westbrook finished a timid triple-double rebound – 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds – in the absence of Beal, who leads the NBA with 32.8 points per game.
Knicks are keeping an eye on Beal as a possible commercial target. He also looks at Rockets star Victor Oladipo, who should also miss Saturday’s game against the Knicks in the garden with a foot and ankle injury.
“We know we just have to go out and play our game,” Rose said. “We know that with the guys intervening for those guys, this is a professional league, everyone is here for a reason.
“So, if we go out and adjust their intensity, we play as we know how to play, we are in almost every game. … If we go out and do what we should do, we know that it will be in our favor, if we go out and play as hard as we can ”.
Robinson totaled four dunks and scored seven rebounds in the first quarter, which ended with the Knicks leading 30-23.
Rose and Quickley combined for six points on the bench at the start of the second quarter, and Rose threw an input feed to Obi Toppin (eight points) for a 40-31 lead to just four. session minutes.
Rose found Randle for a few things a few minutes later for a 45-34 lead. Randle endured the weakest shooting game of the season (4-for-18) and scored just 12 points in Tuesday’s two-point loss to Miami.
Without Robinson after the break, the Knicks starters were beaten 13-5 to open the third to reduce the lead to 53-42 at the break to three. But they closed out the quarter in a 9-0 run – including a late three-point play by Randle – for a 79-64 lead into the fourth.
“We thought we had a good start and then we gave up a bit. We thought our bank gave us great minutes in the first half. Somehow, we have control there, “Thibodeau said. “I did not close the second quarter well, and the third was a little hectic. And the bank came in again and made us go again. ”