EditorsNote: Corrects to Randle (from Barrett) in graf 2; corrects to ‘nine shots’ in graf 9
R.J. Barrett scored a career-high 32 points and Julius Randle had a triple-double to lead the visiting New York Knicks to a 119-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Randle helped the Knicks take control, scoring 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to help New York extend a 10-point lead to as many as 26 points.
New York turned up the heat defensively after halftime, forcing 11 turnovers and holding the Thunder to just 1-of-14 from behind the 3-point line in the fourth quarter.
Randle also had 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double of the season and eighth of his career.
Immanuel Quickley scored 21 of New York’s 45 bench points.
The Thunder jumped out to a quick lead, leading by 10 just six minutes into the game.
Oklahoma City was on fire offensively, hitting five of its first six shots and shooting 70.6 percent from the floor in the first quarter. The Thunder made all nine of their shots in the paint and only missed once from inside the arc in leading 31-22 after one quarter.
The Knicks came back strong in the second with 34 points, taking nine more shots than Oklahoma City to take a two-point lead into the break. Alec Burks scored nine of his 15 points in the second.
Derrick Rose missed his fourth consecutive game due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
The Knicks were also without Elfrid Payton, who sat out with a strained right hamstring.
Frank Ntilikina made just his second start of the season, though he played just seven minutes as Quickley mostly handled the point-guard duties.
Quickley was 9-of-16 from the floor and made three 3-pointers.
Al Horford led the Thunder with 16 points, going 7-of-9 from the field. Luguentz Dort added 14 points.
Rookie Aleksej Pokusevski, making his second consecutive start after returning from the G League bubble, was just 2-of-11 from the floor. He missed all six 3-pointers he attempted.
The Thunder were without a pair of starters. Point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed the game with a left quad contusion and Darius Bazley sat out his second consecutive game with a left shoulder contusion.
–Field Level Media