NBA Roundup: Randle Leads Knicks to Victory, Nets Keep Struggling
The Knicks and Nets feel like two teams going in completely opposite directions in the early going of the 2022-23 season.
Obviously, the Knicks aren’t dealing with the level of distractions that the Nets thanks in major part to Kyrie Irving’s suspension over anti-Semitic tweets, but even on the court the Knicks are doing just fine.
And the Knicks felt just fine on Monday night thanks to Julius Randle, who nailed a career high eight three-pointers, en route to a 31-point night in the Knicks 120-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Tied career-high EIGHT threes for 💥 @J30_RANDLE 💥 pic.twitter.com/MrOhniKusJ
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 8, 2022
Randle’s big night came as the Knicks hit on 44 percent of their shots from the field, and 40 percent from downtown. New York’s offense was so on point on Monday, the Knicks grabbed a 27-point lead, 60-33, when Obi Toppin dropped a slam dunk on a pass by Evan Fournier with 6:30 to go before halftime.
The victory pulls the Knicks back to .500 at 5-5 on the year.
Meanwhile, the Nets suffered a heartbreaking 96-94 loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks to drop to 4-7 on the season. While Kevin Durant led Brooklyn with 26 points, the Nets had no answer for Dallas superstar Luka Doncic who led all scorers with 36 points becoming only the second NBA player ever with nine consecutive games of at least 30 to begin the season.
The Nets found themselves down by as many as 10-points when Doncic hit a free throw with 2:46 to go in the game, before mounting a late rally, but they never took the lead as Durant missed two huge free throws down the stretch.
Ironically, the Knicks and Nets will square off for the first time this season on Wednesday night from Barclays Center.