Julius Randle hurt the Atlanta Hawks Monday night and is making his way to that city on March 7, the scheduled date of the All-Star Game.
Randle reached his Knicks high with 44 points, reaching a career high of seven 3-points as the Knicks win their third consecutive Monday, 123-112, over the Hawks in the fanless Garden.
Continuing his All-Star campaign, Randle scored his third game of 30 or more points and finished one point shy of his career high (along with New Orleans). Randle made 7 of 13 out of 3 and was 14 of 22 overall.
Randle was a 3-point shooter with a career-high 28 percent entering the season and admits he should have been better in his first season as Knick. He spent the summer not repeating 2019-20 amid trade rumors.
“I felt like I let the team down last year,” Randle said. ‘I did not achieve my best performance. Many people have written me off. And that was motivation and fuel. My game is on a level [now] that it had not been before. ”
While Randle was trying to start his on-line interview with MSG Network, a swarm of his teammates – RJ Barrett, Theo Pinson and Immanuel Quickley – surrounded him and stomped for him as an All-Star. Fan poll ends Tuesday.
“The most important thing is the impact he has on the win and hopefully it will be acknowledged,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. ‘But I know that his teammates and his coaches, the organization and certainly our supporters, have great appreciation for what he brings to our team.
‘[It was] a great game. It’s a reflection of all the work he’s done in it. He has always been tremendous from the dribble. He’s always had the back-to-the-basket game. But to shoot comfortably, the 3 added a lot in his game. ”
Randle’s teammates also did not stop supporting his All-Star offer on social media, tweeting links again to vote for him.
“An incredible feeling,” Randle said. ‘Those guys trust me and believe in me every night to lead the team and I’m just trying to be the best leader possible. Just try to be a man they want to follow and trust to lead the team. ‘
Randle beat a rider by 3:30 and then his seventh three-point to drive the lead to 112-107 and fend off the Falcons’ return effort. Atlanta trailed by 14 points in the first half, but responded and led by six points in the third quarter.
Randle appeared on ESPN radio before the match on ‘The Michael Kay Show’ and said an All-Star hangout would mean ‘a lot’. That’s definitely a goal I need to achieve when I get to the Knicks. It would be an incredible honor and mean a lot to me and my family. But I try to keep the team first. ‘
The Knicks move to 14-15 under Thibodeau and win five of seven games. After 29 games last season, the Knicks were 7-22.
‘[Thibodeau’s] attention to detail is incredible, ” Randle said, adding nine times and five assistants. ‘We go to games, so prepared that every game is a play-off game. That’s how good he is. He is definitely a complete culture changer. He held everyone accountable. We all enjoy the process. ”
The Knicks were one of the least productive three-point shooting teams in the NBA, hitting a season high of 17 three-pointers. RJ Barrett added 21 points and scored two three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks buried the Hawks 39-28 in the first quarter, but gave it all back – mostly from the free-throw line.
Randle amassed 17 points in the first quarter when he scored 7 of 8 – 3 or 4 of the 3-point, and continued his excellent season.
Randle joked that he did not make a shot during his advance drills with assistant Kenny Payne.
“I cleared my dung,” he said.
The Knicks made just 9.8 3s and penetrated the game. Randle opened the lock.
“He’s reading the game,” Thibodeau said. ‘He took 13 3’s tonight and I thought that was the right reading material. When he got going, people were looking for him. And if he then puts it on the floor and they collapse, he makes good marginal readings, which also gives us more percentage 3s. This is his everyday game. And what is often overlooked is how unselfish he is. If he sprays the ball around, it’s harder to protect. We scored 121 tonight. If a man gets going like that, you have to commit more than one defender, and that has to open up more things to other people. ‘