Julius Randle stressed that the Knicks “should definitely take advantage” that Bradley Beal, the NBA points leader, did not play for the Wizards on Friday night.
Randle, a potential All-Star forward, is back on track after one of his worst offensive games this season, with 24 points and a season-high 18 rebounds to give the Knicks a 109-91 victory in Washington to lead.
The win, however, won a prize as starting center Mitchell Robinson broke his right hand late in the second quarter after scoring a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds in less than 20 minutes of play.
‘We feel for him, but we have to get ready for the next one. As you know, the games are going to continue, “coach Tom Thibodeau said of Robinson, who will be re-evaluated in New York on Saturday. ‘I thought Nerlens [Noel] stepped in and did well in the second half, and it’s the great value of having a guy like Taj [Gibson] on the grid.
So, next man up. We need to surround the wagons and be ready to go. ‘
In his second game against the Knicks (12-15), Derrick Rose contributed 14 points and six assists with four steals in 20 minutes off the bench after being acquired by the Pistons on Sunday. Rookie Immanuel Quickley scored 16 points and Elfrid Payton finished with 12.
The Wizards’ Russell Westbrook completed one setback from a triple-double point – 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds – in the absence of Beal, who leads the NBA with 32.8 points per game.
The Knicks are watching Beal as a possible trading target. They also look to Rockets star Victor Oladipo, who also missed Saturday’s game against the Knicks at the Garden with a foot and ankle injury.
“We know we just have to go out and play our game,” Rose said. ‘We know it’s a pro league with the guys who play for those guys, everyone’s here for a reason.
‘So when we go out and match their intensity, we play the way we know how to play, we’re in almost every game. … If we go out and do what we have to do, we know it’s going to be in our favor if we’re going to play as hard as possible. ‘
Robinson scored a total of four tackles in the first quarter and grabbed seven rebounds, ending with the Knicks leading 30-23.
Rose and Quickley combined six points off the bench early in the second quarter, and Rose hit an entry to Obi Toppin (eight points) for a shot for a 40-31 lead, barely four minutes into the session .
Rose also found Randle a few minutes later for a 45-34 lead. Randle went through his worst 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 outscored 13-5 to open the third to reduce their halftime lead from 53-42 to three. But they ended the quarter on a 9-0 run – including a late three-pointer by Randle – for a 79-64 lead that penetrated fourth place.
‘I thought we had a good start, and then we got a little sloppy. I thought our bench gave us good minutes in the first half. That’s how we got control there, “said Thibodeau. ‘We did not end the second quarter well, and the third was a bit turbulent. And the bank came in again and we set off like that again. ‘