Randle leads surging Knicks past Hornets in overtime
NEW YORK — Julius Randle had 33 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, and led an overtime surge that sent the New York Knicks past the Charlotte Hornets 118- 109 on Saturday.
Reggie Bullock added 17 points for the Knicks, who improved to 40- 31 and moved into a tie with the idle Atlanta Hawks for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Miami Heat, at 39- 31, are scheduled to play at Milwaukee on Saturday night, and could create a logjam with a victory heading into the Sunday, the last day of regular season play.
If the Milwaukee beats Miami, the Knicks could clinch the fourth spot by beating the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
Knick coach Tom Thibodeau, along with his players, will be keeping an eye on how the Heat- Bucks game unfolds.
“For us the big thing is take care of home court, take care of the game that we have at hand. If we take care of the little things, the big thing will take care of itself,” Thibodeau said. “But I think it is important for everyone to understand the business, who’s in it, how every game impacts something. So I want them studying the league as well.”
The Knicks have won 15 of 19.
NETS 105, BULLS 91
NEW YORK — Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden were on the floor together for the first time in three months.
Barely two minutes later, they were back on the bench for a timeout, looking up a 12- 0 deficit on the scoreboard.
The Brooklyn Nets shook off that slow start, beat the Chicago Bulls and remained confident there’s enough time to turn into the team they expect.
“It’s been a long season, full of ups and downs when it comes to lineups and having all our guys on the same page,” Durant said, “but it was good to get everybody healthy, get some minutes with everybody and we’re going to keep building from here.”
The eighth appearance of the season for Brooklyn’s Big Three wasn’t particularly pretty. But the Nets had some sharp stretches and won their fourth straight, improving to 6- 2 with their three All- Stars in the same game.
Irving scored 22 points, but Durant shot just 4 for 17 and finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Harden had seven assists, five points and five rebounds while playing 25 minutes in his second game back from a hamstring injury.
CELTICS 124, T’WOLVES 108
MINNEAPOLIS — Jayson Tatum had 26 points and 11 rebounds as the short- handed Boston Celtics cruised to a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Evan Fournier added 18 points and was 5 of 8 from 3- point range. Six Celtics scored in double- figures as Boston snapped its fourgame losing streak.
The Celtics can’t improve their playoff positioning in their final two games but want to head into the postseason on a high note.