Julius dashes off COVID list in record time 30-30 CLUB
Knicks get well in a hurry as Randle, RJ combine for 62 in win over Pacers
Julius Randle dunked on COVID-19 early in the shot clock. The forward cleared protocols Tuesday and started against the Pacers at MSG, returning after just a two-game absence.
Randle, 27, entered protocols on Thursday, which used to mean a 10-day absence. But the recent change in quarantine guidelines, which was reduced to five days for asymptomatic individuals or consecutive days of negative tests, allowed for his swift return.
“Just be Julius,” Thibodeau said before the Knicks played Indiana for the fourth time this season. “Go out there, play both sides of the ball. It’s sort of been the way this season has gone. We start to build rhythm, then all of a sudden you lose some guys, but it’s also an opportunity for other guys to get in there and get some playing time. So, I think our young guys overall, very pleased with what they’ve done, but we gotta get back on track.”
The Knicks struggled without Randle, who had missed just one of the previous 134 games before his positive COVID-19 test. They were pummeled by the Thunder and Raptors, managing a season-low 80 points in the Friday contest at OKC.
Fans and media had been lobbying for more time for Randle’s backup, Obi Toppin, but the rotation was a dud in the two games without the team’s All-Star. Toppin played a career-high 45 minutes in Sunday’s loss in Toronto.
“It’s the day and age of social media, and that’s what social media is. You try not to pay attention to it, because it’s really meaningless, whether it’s praise or criticism,” Thibodeau said about remarks directed at Randle. “It doesn’t really matter. Really, what matters is what we think. And so, we know how important it is.
“But it’s like the backup quarterback. Everyone thinks the backup should start until he has to start. And so, Julius is a terrific player.”
Randle, however, has been markedly less efficient compared to his All-NBA performance in the 2020-21 campaign. His numbers before Tuesday (41.7% shooting, 33% from beyond the arc) left the impression last season was more an anomaly than a jumpstart to a steep upward trajectory.
Either way, the Knicks certainly need his playmaking without point guards Derrick Rose (ankle surgery) and Kemba Walker (sore knee).
ENCOURAGING RESULTS
Although Walker sat his third consecutive game Tuesday with his sore arthritic left knee, Thibodeau said the tests administered Monday didn’t uncover anything significant and he’s “day-to-day.”
“Just general soreness,” the coach said. “He’s got some soreness so we’ll let it clear up and then we’ll go from there.”
Walker hasn’t played since tweaking his knee during warmups in OKC on New Year’s Eve. He logged heavy minutes after returning to the rotation last month, and clearly his knee wasn’t ready for the burden.
Without Walker or Rose, the Knicks started Alec Burks Tuesday.
NO MORE PROTOCOLS
Not too long ago, the Knicks had seven players in COVID-19 protocols. They were down to zero Tuesday.
Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Jericho Sims and Nerlens Noel were all cleared before tipoff. Only Noel remained out for conditioning concerns.
With the return of Robinson and Sims, the Knicks again had a workable center rotation to face Indiana’s formidable frontcourt of Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis.
It was a rerun of last season’s Big-2 Broadway Show.
RJ Barrett and Julius Randle combined for 62 points, rediscovering their juice at MSG, as the Knicks surged in the fourth quarter Tuesday to trample the Pacers, 104-94.
Barrett dropped 19 of his 32 points in the first quarter, and attacked aggressively to the delight of a crowd that thrice chanted his name.
“Hearing the crowd chant your name is a lot of fun,” Barrett said. “Blessed I was able to hear that today.”
Randle, who had missed the two previous games after testing positive for COVID-19, emerged from protocols with a doozy of a performance – 30 points, 16 rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes.
It was a hectic couple days for Randle, who had been quarantining in OKC after testing positive before Friday’s game against the Thunder. On a phone call Monday evening, Randle relayed to coach Tom Thibodeau how great he felt despite the illness and layoff. Thibodeau labeled it “one of the best late-night calls I ever got.”
“That was good news. And it came at a good time,” the coach said. “I was working on how we were going to match up with them, the substitutions.” Randle was officially cleared Tuesday morning. “To come off the health and safety protocol, travel, get here and play — we had no idea what he was gonna be like,” Thibodeau said. “Unbelievable effort. Unbelievable game.”
The Knicks (18-20), who split their four-game season series with the Pacers, are finally released from their COVID-19 hell, clearing all their players from protocols by tipoff Tuesday. Randle returned to the starting lineup and was fantastic; Mitchell Robinson came off the bench and played 25 minutes off the bench.
The Knicks were as close to full strength as they had been for weeks.
Still, without Derrick Rose and Kemba Walker due to injuries, Thibodeau started Alec Burks at point guard. It was a change from the previous two contests – both blowout defeats – when rookie Miles McBride was in the lineup.
Tuesday’s configuration certainly worked for Barrett, who scored more than 30 points for just the second time since October.
“I definitely feel like I’m capable (of playing like this moving forward),” said Barrett, who battled symptomatic COVID-19 and a stomach bug earlier in the season. “It’s been a crazy, up-and-down year. With getting sick. Being out. All these different types of things. I think people are coming back slowly. And once we get rolling, this is what to expect.”
The Pacers, meanwhile, were still reeling from their COVID-19 infections. The formidable frontcourt of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner was in the lineup, but held to a combined 20 points. Eight others Pacers – including guards Chris Duarte and Malcolm Brogdon – were in COVID-19 protocols.
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle, as a result, started undrafted diminutive 28-year-old guard Keifer Sykes, who nearly tripled his career point total by dropping 22. Sykes played professionally on four continents, hit a $1 million game-winner in The Basketball Tournament in Ohio this summer, and couldn’t latch onto an NBA team through three previous Summer Leagues.
But he was a handful for the Knicks, who eventually bottled up Sykes in the fourth quarter. That’s also when Randle and Barrett sealed the victory.
“With both guys, the most important thing is them attacking the rim,” Thibodeau said. “The game will tell you what to do. So, if you attack the rim, either you’re gonna get the opportunity to score or you can make a rim read and spray it out to open up the 3-point game. But that’s the difference. If we settle for shots, it’s gonna cause problems. But if we’re attacking the rim, it makes us different, and then it allows us to set up our defense and do a lot of other things.”