Julius Randle came out FIRING — and ON FIRE — on his birthday — hitting five 3’s in the first quarter — and finishing with 36 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in only 31 minutes to lead the Knicks to a romp over the Pistons in Detroit, 140-110.
Detroit made a comeback in the 2nd quarter to erase a 10-pt Knick lead and even briefly jump on top, but the Knicks immediately put their foot down and ran the Pistons out of the building — leading 70-56 at the half and by 30 or so points throughout the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Detroit — who has the worst record in the NBA at 5-18 — has been the Knicks salve this year.
As Danny B said on his Morning Drive after the Memphis game, “We got the Pistons tomorrow night. I feel every time we go into a bad stretch, there come the Detroit Pistons around the corner.”
Indeed — the Knicks have played Detroit 3 times previously this year:
- The first game of preseason when NY blew out Detroit 117-96,
- In game 2 of the season after a heartbreaking OT loss to Memphis; NY beat Detroit 130-106,
- In November right after being blown out by Brooklyn; NY beat Detroit 121-112,
- And this game, which came right after another heartbreaking OT loss to Memphis.
“This game is just what the Knicks’ Doctor ordered,” said Mike Breen afterwards.
Takeaways:
1. Randle Dominated
Coming in, Julius Randle was matched against a very tough and physical Isaiah Stewart. Before the game, Detroit coach Duane Casey said that Randle was one the most physical forwards in the NBA, and Stewart was right there with him.
Randle had just come off a game against Memphis where he facilitated — 14 pts, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. In this one, he came out and felt his shot was falling, so took advantage of it. On his birthday — having just turned 28 years old.
BIRTHDAY BUCKETS for @J30_RANDLE
He's got 4 triples and counting… pic.twitter.com/EAT3h8ODuL
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 30, 2022
“It’s always what the defense gives me,” said Randle afterwards. “Naturally I’m going to be aggressive. But I was just locked in, taking the shots that they gave me.”
Ju is EVERYWHERE‼️
…can't handle the Randle 👀 pic.twitter.com/W2Da1TNWpW
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 30, 2022
“He’s an old school power forward who can stretch the floor,” said Detroit coach Duane Casey afterwards. “Usually he’s getting it going to the rim, going to the basket. When he’s shooting the ball the way he shot tonight, it’s tough. A lot of his shots were contested early, but when he saw those first couple go in, it was difficult. It was going to be a long night.”
2. Everybody Else Played Great
Everyone else on the Knicks played great too. The Knicks were able to rest their starters in the 4th quarter for the back-to-back game on Wednesday against Milwaukee at Madison Square Garden.
RJ Barrett had a strong game, with 16 points in on 4-11 shooting (2-6 from 3; 6-8 in free throws) for a +32 in 24 minutes.
Quentin Grimes shot lights out — 6 for 7 shooting (3 of 4 from 3) for 16 points and a +37 in 28 minutes.
Jalen Brunson shot lights out — 6 for 8 shooting (2 of 2 from 3) for 16 points in only 18 minutes.
Squad had fun in Motown tn 🪩😁
JULIUS 36 PTS | 7 REB | 5 AST
JALEN 16 PTS | 5 AST
RJ 16 PTS | 4 REB
QUENTIN 16 PTS | 6 REB pic.twitter.com/JyXCzhwzIC— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 30, 2022
Mitchell Robinson Beasted inside — 6 pts (on 3 of 6 shooting), 13 rebounds and a block in 26 minutes — a +31.
GRIMES with the DIME. MITCH with the SLAM.@qdotgrimes x @23savage____ pic.twitter.com/tIx8pOnzFU
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 30, 2022
Isiah Hartenstein backed him up and looked good — 3 of 4 for 8 points and 5 rebounds in 14 minutes.
Obi Toppin shot 3 of 4 from the floor (2 of 3 from 3) for 8 pts in 18 minutes.
EXCLAMATION ON THE DUB @obitoppin1‼️ pic.twitter.com/95Sc3xEjnz
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 30, 2022
Immanuel Quickley had 17 points on 7-12 shooting; Derek Rose played well — 5 points and a +17 in 25 minutes.
You get the picture.
Don't blink you might miss him 🌹 pic.twitter.com/SOjg1lY195
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 30, 2022
Jericho Sims, who has been playing great but did not get action in the game against Memphis, sat the entire game until getting called on for the final 6 minutes. He immediately dominated — receiving 3 straight passes inside for 3 straight DUNKS. It was “pass the ball to Jericho Sims” time.
The only Knick to not get in on the fun was Evan Fournier — who was glued to the bench. No doubt coach Tom Thibodeau is protecting his scoring average.
3. For Detroit
To make matters worse for Detroit, Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey are out injured.
Killian Hayes started at shooting guard and had 11 points on 5-11 shooting in 26 minutes, but looked pedestrian; not that big and not that quick.
Kevin Knox got action, coming off two terrific games — and looked good — scoring 5 points in 17 minutes. He made a nice Euro-move into the lane and blocked a shot inside by Mitchell Robinson.
Jalen Duren — the #13 pick in the 2022 draft who was traded from Charlotte to NY to Detroit on draft night — played well; 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting.
“Tonite was a stinker,” said Detroit coach Duane Casey. “We’ve been playing excellent basketball until tonite.”
The Knicks play the Pistons one more time this season — on Sunday, January 15th in Detroit. The game before, NY plays the Washington Wizards.
The Knicks are on their own after that.
Love the headline.
Knicks made big mistake trading Duren. Wait’ll 3 yrs from now