After a nine-day hiatus for the All-Star break, the Knicks came out looking better than ever against the Washington Wizards, winning 115-109. While this wasn’t an easy win, as the Knicks were down 17 at one point, at the end of the night that didn’t matter.
This was New York’s fourth victory in a row and with the Miami Heat losing to the Bucks, the Knicks are now two games ahead for the sixth seed in the East, keeping the team further away from the play-in tournament.
The best part about this game, however, was easily Julius Randle’s masterclass that helped propel the Knicks past the large deficit they found themselves in. If not for Randle, New York would likely have lost this game, so props to him.
Kyle Kuzma told Randle he was too small… Randle then scored 11 points in the last 2:32 of the quarter as part of a 12-2 run for the Knicks pic.twitter.com/vhOhsZQnNR
— Talkin’ Knicks (@TalkinKnicks) February 25, 2023
Julius Randle has masterclass performance in first game back from All-Star break
While All-Star Weekend was rather uneventful for Randle with a quiet three-point contest performance and silent All-Star Game, Randle showed that this didn’t matter with his play on Friday night as he absolutely dominated the Wizards.
In 36 minutes of play, Randle scored 46 points while grabbing two rebounds and dishing out two assists, shooting 16-of-29 from the field and 7-of-14 from three in the process. There seemingly wasn’t a shot Randle couldn’t hit and the Wizards knew it.
This was Randle’s third 40+ point performance of the season, marking the second time in three games in which the Knicks have won a game when he does this.
Randle was incredibly dominant from everywhere on the floor and this sort of game cements the fact that he was a deserving All-Star and potential All-NBA member yet again. Who knows if the media will give Randle the respect he deserves but most Knicks fans know that he is deserving of this award.
In other news, Mitchell Robinson finally made his return to the lineup and was pretty darn good, scoring 10 points while grabbing 12 rebounds in 28 minutes. There was a notable drop-off in the Knicks’ defense when Robinson was hurt, so it was nice to see him play so well in his first game back.
Jalen Brunson may not have had the greatest game from an offensive standpoint, scoring just 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting from the field, but his nine assists and incredibly clutch layup down the stretch were more than enough to help the Knicks pull through with a win.
This is the kind of dirty, tough victory the Knicks needed to start their final stretch of the season as they look to move even further up the standings, potentially making a push to the fifth seed since the Nets tore down their team.
It will be incredibly interesting to see how New York follows this win up against New Orleans on Saturday. If the Knicks can manage to win five games in a row heading into their matchup against the Celtics, we could see another upset occur.
For now, though, this was the definition of a feel-good win and hopefully we see the team continue to play well throughout their final 21 games of the regular season and into the playoffs.
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