MANILA – Julius Randle served as a thorn on the side of his former team Los Angeles Lakers as he powered New York Knicks to a 111-96 victory in the 2020-2021 NBA Season on Monday night at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
Randle – who spent the first few years in the league with the Lakers – posted a double-double 34 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Knicks to its third straight win for a 28-27 win-loss slate.
Elfrid Payton chipped in 20 markers; Derrick Rose and Reggie Bullock contributed 14 and 12 markers, respectively; and Taj Gibson had 10 rebounds and eight points for New York.
Holding to a 55-52 halftime lead, the Knicks created separation from the Lakers with triples from Bullock and inside baskets from Randle for an 81-69 advantage.
The Lakers clawed to within 87-92 in the fourth quarter but Randle crushed his former team by knocking down consecutive baskets as the Knicks lead grew to its largest at 111-94.
Dennis Schroder finished the match with 21 points, while Markieff Morris, Kyle Kuzma, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17, 14, and 12 markers, respectively, for the Lakers (32-21).
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers (37-17) regained the top spot in the East after a 113-95 beating of the Dallas Mavericks (29-24) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
From a 34-all score, the 76ers surged to a 47-40 lead with hits from Fukuan Korkmaz and Ben Simmons. It grew further to 60-45 late in the second period on consecutive shots from Joel Embiid.
Embiid continued his offensive onslaught in the third quarter, while Danny Green, Seth Curry, and Shake Milton also got their shots to fall as the lead reached its largest at 113-93.
Embiid finished with 36 points, with 23 coming in the opening quarter, Korkmaz contributed 20 markers, and Milton and Tobias Harris added 10 each for the 76ers.
BOX SCORE:
NEW YORK 111 – Randle 34, Payton 20, Rose 14, Bullock 12, Gibson 8, Barrett 7, Noel 6, Quickley 5, Toppin 3, Burks 2, Ntilikina 0, Knox 0.
LOS ANGELES 96 – Schroder 21, Morris 17, Kuzma 14, Caldwell-Pope 12, Horton-Tucker 10, McLemore 8, Caruso 4, Drummond 3, Gasol 3, Cacok 2, Matthews 2, Harrell 0, Antetokounmpo 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
26-28, 55-52, 81-69, 111-96./PN
