New York beats Detroit, 114-104
NEW YORK >> The All-star Game is up next for Julius Randle. The playoffs might be there later for his team.
Randle capped his breakout first half with 27 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, sending the New York Knicks into the break with a winning record after a 114104 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.
“As a group we’re not satisfied,” Randle said. “We haven’t accomplished what we want to accomplish.”
It’s been an unexpected
rise for the longtime losers fueled by Randle, the workhorse power forward who was rewarded with his first All-star selection.
“He’s a great worker and sets a great example for the team,” Thibodeau said. “So he’s been terrific and the impact on winning has been huge.”
So has Thibodeau’s, the former Coach of the Year whose players have taken to his style of outworking the competition.
“We still have a lot of things that we have to clean up, but I think hard work is always going to make up for it,” Barrett said.
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 1027, worst in the East.
Coach Dwane Casey pointed to the growth of the Pistons’ many young players and sees good things ahead for the franchise.
“It’s just so many good things that are going on and unfortunately they’re not coming out as ‘Ws,’” he said.
Mason Plumlee, one of two Pistons with triple-doubles 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.