Julius Randle scores season-high 44 points in a Knicks’ victory over Atlanta, 123-112
Julius Randle scored a seasonhigh 44 points, making a careerbest seven 3-pointers and leading the New York Knicks to their third straight victory, 123-112 over the slumping Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.
Randle added nine rebounds and five assists in perhaps the best performance of a season that should merit All-star consideration. The seventh-year forward scored 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting in the first quarter to send the Knicks to a fast start and ended up one point shy of his career high.
RJ Barrett added 21 points and rookie Immanuel Quickley had 16 for the Knicks, who improved to 14-15 and can reach .500 with a victory over Orlando on Wednesday.
Trae Young had 23 points and eight assists for the Hawks, who dropped their fourth straight and seventh in the last eight games. Shenendehowa graduate Kevin Huerter finished with eight points and five assists for Atlanta.
Bulls 120, Pacers 112 (OT): Zach Lavine scored 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to help Chicago force overtime, and the Bulls then pulled away from Indiana.
Wizards 131, Rockets 119: Bradley Beal scored 37 points in an entertaining duel with ex-teammate John Wall, and the Wizards beat undermanned Houston in Wall’s return to Washington. Wall, traded in December for Russell Westbrook and a first-round pick, had season highs of 29 points and 11 assists for the Rockets, who were missing leading scorer Eric Gordon along with Victor Oladipo, Christian Wood and P.J. Tucker. Houston dropped its sixth straight. Westbrook had 16 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds for his sixth triple-double of the season.
Notes: Forward Anthony Davis’ injured Achilles tendon is not ruptured, and he will be reevaluated when the Lakers return from their road trip. The defending NBA champions made the announcement after an MRI exam for Davis, who is out indefinitely. The ALL-NBA firstteamer left the Lakers’ game at Denver in the second quarter Sunday night with an apparent aggravation of the tendonosis that has bothered his right heel for at least two weeks . ... The Pistons plan to keep Blake Griffin out of the lineup while he and the organization work out a decision on his future. Griffin, who turns 32 next month, came to Detroit in a trade during the 2017-18 season, but the Pistons have made just one postseason appearance with him and have spent much of the last year overhauling their roster in earnest. Detroit is 8-19 this season, and Griffin has already missed seven games . ... The Suns have assigned rookie forward Jalen Smith to the NBA’S G League . ... The Cavaliers will make center Andre Drummond inactive for upcoming games as they pursue a trade for him. Drummond did not dress for Sunday night’s game against the Clippers . ... Michael Jordan is donating $10 million to launch two medical clinics in underserved communities near his hometown in North Carolina
All-star game: Players taking part in All-star weekend in Atlanta will largely have to remain in their hotels when not at the arena, the league told teams on Monday, and all players and coaches — whether part of All-star events or not — will have to continue getting tested daily for COVID-19. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed on those rules, the league said in the memo laying out the health and safety protocols that will apply during the break. The league plans to announce starters for the All-star Game on Thursday, and the reserves on Feb. 23.