Randle, Knicks reach break over .500
NEW YORK — Julius Randle capped his All-Star first half with 27 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, sending the New York Knicks into the break with a winning record after a 114-104 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night.
RJ Barrett added 21 points to help the Knicks improve to 19-18 in their first season under Tom Thibodeau. They have missed the playoffs for seven straight years but finished the first half in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Elfrid Payton had 20 points after missing the last four games with a sore right hamstring.
Wayne Ellington scored 17 points for the Pistons, who came nowhere near duplicating their play from a night earlier, when they routed Toronto 129-105. They had 43 points after one quarter in that game but barely surpassed that by halftime of this one, reaching the midpoint of their schedule at 10-27, worst in the East.
Mason Plumlee, one of two Pistons with tripledoubles against Toronto, followed that with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
New York’s lead was 48-44 after Isaiah Stewart’s follow shot with 3:52 remaining in the half. The Knicks then ran off 11 straight points, most of the baskets at or near the rim, to open a 15-point cushion and took a 59-46 lead to the break.
The Knicks made 15 of 23 shots (65%) in the third, opening a 20-point lead before taking a 93-74 advantage to the fourth. Detroit cut it to 10 in the fourth and was about to get closer when it got the ball underneath to an open Plumlee, but Randle swooped in to block the shot and the Knicks found Barrett alone on the other end to make it 103-91.
The Pistons were the opponent in the last NBA game played at Madison Square Garden in front of a full crowd. The Knicks beat them 96-84 last March 8 before beginning a threegame road trip they never finished because the season was suspended three nights later because of the coronavirus.
CELTICS 132, RAPTORS 125
BOSTON — Jayson Tatum had 27 points and 12 rebounds and the Boston Celtics won their fourth straight game, outlasting the short-handed Toronto Raptors.
Jaylen Brown added 21 points and seven rebounds, and Kemba Walker finished with 15 points.
Toronto, which played without starters Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby, along with Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw as they remained in the health and safety protocols, has lost four of five. Coach Nick Nurse and several members of his staff were also in the protocols, leaving the coaching duties to assistant Sergio Scariolo.
The Raptors hit 21 3pointers and led early before being outscored 35-22 in the third quarter. Chris Boucher led Toronto with 30 points. Norman Powell finished with 25 points and Terence Davis added 22.