DALLAS: Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle knew where his club could be with Julius Randle in his hometown of Big D.
“He’s an All-Star who loves to play here again,” Carlisle said before the game.
And com. Friday was Randle’s best game to date, and one of the Knicks ’most impressive wins this season.
It’s been a week full of home games for Randle, who has finished with a spectacular 44-point start that allowed the Knicks to a magnificent 117-109 victory over the Mavericks in the face of a pandemic of 4,000 American Airlines fans. Center.
The Knicks won the fifth straight game of the high season to win three games of the season high above 500 to 30-27, and Randle missed a career-high tie. The Knicks, who are 3-1 against former star Kristaps Porzingis in the last two seasons, had not won five in a row in seven years.
“I was actually a little tired a little earlier, but I took a few smoothie drinks, I got some energy,” Randle said. “It simply came to our notice then. I always love to play at home before friends and family. It’s always special to me. “
If the Knicks hadn’t changed Porzingis, who shot 8 for 20 for 23 points, he probably would never have signed Randle. But a group of blue-clad Knicks fans hung up after the final buzzer and cheered and cheered on Porzingis, who headed to the sideline to shake, smile and point.
But Randle has caused many other Knicks fans to forget about Latvian, who was overtaken by Randle. Knicks fans in the crowd sang “MVP” while the Dallas natives threw free throws in the final seconds.
“The way he plays is rarely covered single,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He is doing the right thing, winning plays. He is our engine. It makes us leave. “
RJ Barrett added 24 points with a fourth-quarter clutch. Knicks center-back Nerlens Noel, playing with a sore ankle, was noisy, with 10 rebounds and three blocks. He also attacked Porzingis and hit two crucial free throws in the absence of 2:10.
Thibodeau raved about Noel’s block on the edge of Dorian Finney-Smith, who had the bench stepping on joy in the fourth quarter.
“Blocked shooting, a lot of plays throughout a game is winning plays that ignite and inspire the team,” Thibodeau said. “When you see a player like that, your people were fired.”
Already this week, Randle had taken revenge on his first NBA team, the Lakers, by scoring 34 points and had secured a win against his second team, the Pelicans, with 32 points. Randle will face the Pelicans again on Sunday.
“The way they made the calendar, you knew they would,” Barrett said of Randle.
But he kept the best for the past; he looked even sharper and cooler on Friday, as if he were playing the first game of his season instead of the 56th contest of his season.
It all started in Dallas during the pandemic of 13 months ago, when Randle became the best form of his career.
“He prepared for that,” Thibodeau said. “It simply came to our notice then. I know when I first saw her in the summer the kind of way she was. I have had this type of player in my career and they are always preparing for the low season to be able to withstand this workload. They get a lot of attention. “
Randle shot 16 against 29 and 6 against 11 from the 3-point range. The left-hand All-Star freight train scored the Knicks ’first 10 points and started the game 4-4, getting their triples and going to the basket.
He racked up 15 points in the first quarter and scored 21 at halftime as the Knicks led 56-52 in the half. He was 9 of 12 from the field and 3 of 7 of 3.
Randle scored 35 points after three quarters, but when he rested, a Barrett play was crucial early in the fourth quarter.
Frank Ntilikina, driven to action by the absence of Alec Burks (who is part of the COVID-19 protocols), also hit a big triple.
Porzingis received a technical foul and was frustrated by Noel’s physical play in the first half. Reggie Bullock also put a number on Luka Doncic, who held him up to 22 points, but with 19 assists in the race.
This was the Knicks ’first game without Burks, which is out indefinitely, and they didn’t skip a beat.