Julius Randle had insisted that the Knicks should “absolutely take advantage” of the fact that NBA-scoring leader Bradley Beal did not play for the Wizards on Friday night.
Randle, a potential All-Star forward, got back on track after one of his worst offensive games of the season, with 24 points and 18 rebounds on the season to lead the Knicks to a 109-91 victory in Washington.
The win came with a price, however, as starting center Mitchell Robinson broke his right hand late in the second quarter after recording a double-double, with 10 points and 14 rebounds, in less than 20 minutes of playing time.
“We feel for him, but we have to prepare for the next one. As you know, the games keep coming, ”said coach Tom Thibodeau of Robinson, who will be reevaluated in New York on Saturday. I thought Nerlens [Noel] got in and did great in the second half, and that’s the great value of a guy like Taj [Gibson] on the grid.
So the next guy. We have to circle the cars and be ready to go. “
Derrick Rose contributed 14 points and six assists with four steals in 20 minutes off the bench in his second game back with the Knicks (12-15) after taking over from the Pistons on Sunday. Rookie Immanuel Quickley scored 16 points and Elfrid Payton finished 12.
Russell Westbrook of the Wizards finished a rebound shy of a triple-double – 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 eyeing Beal as a potential trade target. They also watch Rockets star Victor Oladipo, who will also miss 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,” said Rose. “We know that with the guys getting in for those guys, this is a professional league, everyone is here for a reason.
“So when we go out and match their intensity, play like we know how to play, we’re in almost every game. … When we go out and do what we have to do, we know it will be in our favor if we go out and play as hard as possible. “
Robinson hit four dunks and got seven rebounds in the first quarter, which ended with the Knicks leading 30-23.
Rose and Quickley combined six points off the bench at the start of the second quarter, and Rose turned an entry feed to Obi Toppin (eight points) for a dunk 40-31 ahead, barely four minutes into the session.
Rose also found Randle a few minutes later for a 45-34 lead. Randle had endured his worst shooting game of the season (4-for-18), scoring only 12 runs in Tuesday’s two-point loss in Miami.
Without Robinson after a hiatus, the Knicks starters were outperformed 13-5 to open the third to cut their 53-42 halftime score to three. But they closed the quarter with a 9-0 run – including a late three-point play by Randle – for a 79-64 lead going into the fourth.
“I thought we had made a good start and then we got sloppy for a while. I thought our bank gave us good minutes in the first half. Kind of, we’re in control there, ”Thibodeau said. “We didn’t close the second quarter well, and the third was a bit choppy. And the bank came back in and got us back on our feet. “