Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson lead the way for Knicks over Raptors
Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson try to get possession of the ball during the first half of an NBA game Friday in Toronto. Credit: The Canadian Press via AP/Cole Burston
TORONTO — Friday was a strange anniversary, a year to the day since Julius Randle infamously flashed a thumbs-down gesture to the Madison Square Garden crowd. That was a low point in a frustrating and troubling season for a player who had been an All-Star, the NBA’s Most Improved Player and a second-team All-NBA selection a season earlier.
Lost in the NBA-fined actions that day, which included a profane explanation of the message for the home fans, was that Randle actually played with a fire. And this season, minus the dysfunction, he is playing with a fire that again has him in consideration for a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
North of the border, Randle’s efforts Friday were met mostly with disappointed groans by the crowd at Scotiabank Arena rather than the MVP chants that have served as a soundtrack of late at Madison Square Garden. But the effect was the same as he led the Knicks to a 112-108 victory over the Raptors, their fourth straight win.
Randle had 32 points, his fifth effort of at least 30 points in the last nine games, and 11 rebounds.
The Knicks (22-18) led by 16 points with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter (and by 10 with 1:56 remaining), but a 17-3 run capped by Gary Trent Jr.’s three-pointer brought the Raptors within 108-106.
Jalen Brunson, who had 26 points and eight assists, came to the rescue. He drove around Fred VanVleet, banked in a five-footer, drew a foul on OG Anunoby and converted the three-point play for a 111-106 lead with 22.8 seconds to play.
Trent drove for a tough layup, but Brunson hit a free throw with 13.4 seconds remaining for a four-point lead. Scottie Barnes then missed a driving layup and Randle rebounded to clinch it.
Randle, who is averaging 29.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in his last 15 games, had his big game against Pascal Siakam, a competitor for an All-Star spot. Siakam scored 52 points against the Knicks on Dec. 21 but was held to 18 on Friday.
“I get up every night. I’m a competitor,” Randle said. “I love to compete. It can be my mom in front of me. It can be Kyden [his son]. I want to win.”
What has become an almost-every-night occurrence is that Randle gets the Knicks started with a productive first quarter, and that happened again. He connected on five three-point field goals in the quarter and finished the period with 19 points.
“I thought that was huge,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought it gave us a lot of confidence. When a guy comes out like that, it sort of sets the tone for the game, and if you couple that with the defense and the rebounding — and this team, if you put them in the open floor, they can score a bunch of points against you.”
It was Thibodeau’s 100th win as Knicks coach and the first victory by the Knicks in Toronto since 2015. They have won 12 of their last 17 games.
When the first round of All-Star fan voting was released Thursday, Randle was nowhere to be found among the top 10 frontcourt players. Brunson also was absent from the list, along with every other Knicks player other than little-used Derrick Rose, who was ninth among guards.
About the All-Star voting, Thibodeau said: “To me, the All-Star Game is for the fans. I have no problem with that. There’s a number of guys that are deserving and will get consideration. I think the tough part about All-Star Games is because the fans will have impact on the starters, and rightly so, there’s a limited number of spots after that. There are more players that are deserving that are having big years.
“Hopefully our players will get some consideration. Certainly Julius, Jalen and RJ [Barrett]. I know when the coaches vote, you’re looking at what’s the impact . . . on winning. I think that’s usually the tiebreaker for most coaches . . . Hopefully our guys will get consideration.”
“The way he’s playing is just unheard of,” Brunson said. “He’s playing with confidence and he’s having fun. So it’s really awesome to see how he’s been able to kind of bounce back. I think he still has a lot more to prove, not just to everyone else but to himself because he has a whole ’nother level he can reach.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
