Randle, Barrett spark Knicks over Lakers to snap NBA skid
Julius Randle scored 33 points and R.J. Barrett added 30 to lead New York over the Los Angeles Lakers 112-108 on Sunday, snapping the Knicks’ three-game NBA losing streak.
A night after Randle managed only 19 points in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, he hit 11-of-24 shots, grabbed eight rebounds and passed off five assists to ignite New York, AFP reported.
“Games like that happen,” Randle said. “I’m not going to second-guess myself just because I had a bad game. Come back next game and be better.”
Randle’s 16th 30-point performance on the road this season matched Bernard King’s Knicks record for such heroics away from Madison Square Garden.
Barrett scored eight points in an 11-6 Knicks run for a 99-94 lead early in the fourth quarter and finished with 13 points in the final period.
Josh Hart sank two final free throws with five seconds remaining for New York to create the final margin.
LeBron James remained sidelined for the Lakers with a foot injury while the Knicks were without Jalen Brunson due to a sore left foot.
The Knicks improved to 40-30, sixth in the Eastern Conference, while the Lakers saw their three-game win streak snapped and fell to 33-35.
The Lakers stand 11th in the Western Conference but with the same record as Utah, Oklahoma City and New Orleans in the ninth-12th spots and one game behind Minnesota and Dallas in the seventh and eighth positions.
Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges scored 25 points and Nic Claxton added 20 as the Nets edged host Denver 122-120 despite a triple double by Serbian superstar center Nikola Jokic.
Two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 35 points, pulled down 20 rebounds and passed off 11 assists but couldn’t pull off a victory in the final seconds for the Western Conference leaders (46-22).
The Nets led 109-94 with eight minutes remaining but the Nuggets rallied with a 21-6 run and Jokic lifted Denver within 121-120 on a free throw with 41 seconds to play.
Jokic and Bruce Brown missed jump shots in the final 10 seconds and Bridges added a final free throw before Jokic missed a three-pointer at the closing buzzer.
Joel Embiid scored 34 points, grabbed eight rebounds and added four blocked shots and four assists to spark the Philadelphia 76ers over visiting Washington 112-93.
James Harden contributed 18 points and 14 assists for the Sixers, who stretched their win streak to five games and stayed third in the Eastern Conference at 45-22.
Trey Murphy scored a career-high 41 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 127-110 victory over visiting Portland. Murphy hit 13-of-20 shots from the floor, including 9-of-14 from three-point range.
Darius Garland scored 28 points and Donovan Mitchell added 23 to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-108 victory at Charlotte. Terry Rozier had 27 points in a losing cause.
Jalen Williams had 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds to spark Oklahoma City over host San Antonio 102-90.