A crowning moment for King Julius.
All-Star Julius Randle tied a career high with 46 points and assisted on the dagger in a 115-109 victory Friday night over the Wizards, as the Knicks recovered from an early 19-point deficit in their fourth straight victory.
Randle knocked down 7 of 14 treys, showing he’s better from the outside when it really matters after his dud in the 3-point contest during All-Star weekend. Still, the game was in the balance after Washington’s Bradley Beal tied the score with 59 seconds remaining. Then Jalen Brunson, who otherwise struggled Friday, hit the go-ahead layup over the outstretched arm of Kristaps Porzingis.
On the ensuing Knicks possession, Randle’s dish to a wide open Mitchell Robinson for a dunk sealed the victory. As a result, the Knicks (34-27) moved a season-high seven games over .500.
Josh Hart again closed the game at forward, keeping multiple important possessions alive by hustling after loose balls. The controversy was the struggling RJ Barrett being glued to the bench again down the stretch, with both Hart and Immanuel Quickley on the wings.
Barrett finished with 14 points in just 28 minutes.
It started ugly for the Knicks, who gave up wide open 3-pointers and trailed by as many as 19 in the first half. To make matters worse, Porzingis, the one who got away from the Knicks, was the catalyst to Washington’s early onslaught with 19 points in the opening quarter, nailing all five of his treys.
But then Randle awoke from the All-Star break slumber and took control. Randle blew by Porzingis at will and scored 25 in the first half, boosting the Knicks to a 10-0 run that cut the deficit to 4 at the break. Randle scored 11 points in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the half. He also switched onto Porzingis defensively and held the Latvian scoreless in the second quarter.
The Knicks then scored eight straight points to start the second half, making it an 18-0 run that provided the visitors their second lead of the night.
Porzingis, meanwhile, only scored four points after the first quarter and finished with 23 and five rebounds.
Brunson clearly lost some momentum with the All-Star break. He entered averaging over 30 points in his previous 10 games but managed just 13 on Friday on a rough 6-for-20 shooting. But he added nine assists and the go-ahead bucket with 42 seconds left.
Mitch comes back
Robinson returned from thumb surgery for his first game in over a month, starting at center and contributing 12 rebounds in 28 minutes. As expected, Isaiah Hartenstein remained the backup and Jericho Sims was removed from the rotation.
The Knicks went 8-6 during the latest stretch without Robinson, who has struggled with injuries throughout his career.
On Friday, Robinson shot 5 for 6 with 10 points.
