Knicks beat the Wiz in

WASHINGTON — Julius Randle played all but one game last season and more minutes than any player in the NBA. So when he’s not on the court for the Knicks – or inactive for personal reasons like in Saturday’s 117-99 victory over Wizards – it’s interesting to see how the offense responds without its top playmaker.

Here are 5 thoughts on what transpired in D.C.

SHOT TAKING, MAKING

The Knicks dropped 24 3-pointers on 52 attempts, spreading the floor and pulling triggers early in the shot clock. If this were the regular season, those 24 conversions would’ve been a franchise record. They’ve played at a quicker pace in preseason and averaged 121 points in the two games. It’s preseason, of course, but certainly encouraging. Kemba Walker only had six points, but RJ Barrett (18 points), Derrick Rose (15) and Evan Fournier (14) picked up the slack.

“(3-pointers) is one of the things we worked hard at over the last two years and over the summer. And also the guys we brought in are very efficient at shooting them. So their shot profile is right.”

THORNY ROSE

After 19 minutes and 15 points, Rose seemed bothered by pain in his left ankle/foot area and was sat for the remainder of the fourth quarter. He spoke to trainers and sat on the end of the bench, even during timeouts, while intermittently working on his foot with a resistant band. He left for the locker room before the game finished, but claimed it was just an ankle turn – not a full turn, though – and nothing to worry about.

“Nothing serious at all, but I knew if I would have kept playing I would have probably made it worse,” he said.

SHAKEUP AT THE 4

Without Randle, Obi Toppin started at power forward and logged 28 minutes, which would’ve been a career high if it occurred in the regular season. He played well from the corner while scoring 13 points with eight rebounds, but also committed three turnovers.

Randle’s absence pushed Kevin Knox to backup power forward. The former ninth overall pick is still trying to convince Tom Thibodeau he’s worthy of a rotation spot, and his