Randle scores 24 as they beat playoff nemesis Hawks for their third straight win
ATLANTA — This time, Julius Randle gets a thumbs up for his thumbs down.
Randle got his revenge against the Hawks on Saturday. In the process, he helped carry the Knicks to their first winning record since November and flashed his famous STFU to the opposition.
Randle iced the 117-108 victory with a powerful and-1 lay-up in the paint with three minutes remaining, and playfully gestured thumbs-down in the direction of the Hawks bench and crowd. Randle again didn’t speak to the media so he couldn’t clarify who was the exact target of the thumb, but he was smiling during the gesture and Knicks fans can certainly appreciate that reaction in this context.
They can also appreciate Randle scoring 24 points with nine assists and six rebounds. The Knicks (22-21), as a result, won their third straight. They’re 8-3 starting on Christmas and 5-1 since the
New Year.
“It feels good for sure.
That’s what we’re working for,” RJ Barrett said. “We had a tough month but it’s starting to pick up again now. It’s exciting to be a part of.”
The starting lineup is clicking. All five scored in double-digits, with Barrett dropping a team-high 26. Randle, however, was the offensive catalyst. He played 38 minutes and shot 10-for-21.
“He was great,” coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The Knicks stumbled on a downward trajectory in this same arena last year, when they were run out Atlanta with consecutive playoff losses. They were outmatched and outmuscled by the Hawks.
But this season has presented a much different scenario. The Knicks are already 3-0 against the Hawks, with Saturday turning into a fairly commanding victory. They led for the final 34 minutes and by as many as 17 points.
The Hawks (17-25), led by Trae Young’s 29 points, cut the deficit to two in the fourth quarter but never tied it.
Atlanta, which was missing stalwart center Clint Capela with an ankle sprain and wing Bogdan Bogdanovic with a sore knee, is a defensive mess. The Hawks entered Saturday allowing an average of 112 points per game and were picked apart by the Knicks.
The Hawks’ excuse was playing on a second night of a back-to-back after falling to the Heat on Friday, but pitiful defense has been their season-long issue.
They had Randle feeling good. In the third quarter, he crossed up Atlanta’s John Collins on the perimeter and sent the defender so off-balance he fell to the court. By the fourth quarter, Randle was smiling when he gestured thumbs down — not scowling like a week prior when he flashed thumbs down to the MSG crowd — and left State Farm Arena with a victory.
“It’s great to see him having just a monster game like this today,” Barrett said. “When we both play well, we have a great chance of winning.”
CAM WILL HAVE TO EARN TIME
Tom Thibodeau’s message Saturday was clear as he addressed the outlook of his newest player, Cam Reddish:
Playing time will be earned, not given.
Although Reddish requested a trade from the Hawks because he desired a bigger role, the Knicks already carry a load of wings and don’t have an obvious spot to slot in the 22-year-old.
“You have a finite amount of minutes available in each game — 240 minutes,” Thibodeau said when asked how he will fit Reddish into the rotation. “So you have to play whomever gives you the best chance to win. And nobody’s development is more important than someone else’s development. Everyone’s development is important. So winning has to come first. The team comes first. You play who gives you the best chance to win.”
Reddish traveled with the Knicks to Atlanta but wasn’t available for Saturday’s game against the Hawks. Thibodeau said Reddish will be out for “a while” but described the ankle issue as only a sprain.
The coach and player spoke for the first time before the game.
“Just normal introduction and get to know him, starting to lay out a plan,” Thibodeau said. “Anytime a player gets traded in the middle of the season it’s just getting acclimated. So it was good to visit with him. We’ll spend a lot more time as we go forward.”