NEW YORK — Donovan Mitchell demonstrated why he’s a superstar worthy of chasing. But Julius Randle’s struggles—along with his familiar hot temper—didn’t do a good job selling New York as a destination.
Mitchell, who grew up close to the Knicks practice facility in Westchester, put on a show at MSG on Sunday night, dropping 36 points and ruining the Knicks chances at moving closer to the final play-in spot.
Mitchell is seen around the league as a potential trade target for the Knicks, whether this summer or down the road, but he’s under contract in Utah until at least 2025 and would need to force his way out like James Harden or Ben Simmons.
As it stands, the Jazz (45-26) are much better than the Knicks (30-41). Mitchell is obviously a big part of that calculus, as he demonstrated Sunday with seven 3-pointers on 12 attempts. But the 23-year-old is also current teammates with the NBA’s top rim protector, Rudy Gobert, who stifled the Knicks on Sunday.
Randle was a mess again while missing 16 of his 22 shot attempts, drawing boos from the MSG crowd after a costly turnover in the fourth quarter. He was the main culprit of another fourth-quarter Knicks dud, when their reserves cut the deficit to 4 before the starters returned to quickly blow it.
Randle’s frustration boiled over again, as the 27-year-old had to be held back from confronting Gobert after the final buzzer. Gobert, who finished with four blocks and 14 points, tried to ease the tension but Randle was still bothered enough to make a scene.
In his last three games, Randle has shot (15-for-62). RJ Barrett wasn’t much better Sunday, shooting 8 for 20 for 24 points in 42 minutes. The Knicks were outscored by 20 points with Barrett on the court.
With the Hawks falling to the Pelicans earlier Sunday, the Knicks had an opportunity to cut their deficit to four games out of the final play-in spot. It was more significant since the Knicks host the Hawks on Tuesday.
Instead, the Knicks remained five games out and could be completely buried Tuesday by Trae Young and the Hawks.
Mitchell did his part on Sunday.
