Randle leads Knicks over Lakers, past .500
Same city, whole different kind of game for the Lakers.
Two nights after dominating the Nets, the defending champions got a look at how much better the Knicks are defensively.
Julius Randle had 34 points and 10 rebounds against his former team and New York beat the visiting Lakers 11196 on Monday night for its third straight victory.
“Really poor passing, some bad decisions and some of it you have to credit the defense. But as good as we were offensively two nights ago, we were just as bad tonight,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said.
Coming off tense finishes against Memphis and Toronto, the Knicks led comfortably for much of the fourth quarter and moved back above .500 at 2827, bouncing back nicely after narrow losses to Brooklyn and Boston last week.
Elfrid Payton scored 20 points and Derrick Rose added 14 off the bench for the Knicks, who were sparked by Randle’s 13 points in the first quarter and had plenty of energy on the second night of backtoback games.
Suns 126, Rockets 120: Jae Crowder scored 26 points, Devin Booker added 24 and host Phoenix tied an NBA record with 18 3-pointers in the first half in a win over Houston. The Suns finished with a franchise-record 25 3-pointers and the Rockets added 17. The combined total of 42 3s was one shy of an NBA record. The Suns jumped to an 81-58 lead by halftime after making 18 of 24 from beyond the arc. Crowder scored all of his points in the first half, making 8 of 9 from long range. 76ers 113, Mavericks 95: Joel Embiid scored 36 points and Philadelphia wrapped up a long stretch of mostly road games with a win in Dallas. Embiid made all six of his free-throw tries in the first four-plus minutes and was 14-for-15 from the line as the 76ers finished 8-4 while playing 10 of 12 games on the road going into their final regular-season meeting with Brooklyn.
Spurs 120, Magic 97: DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points in less than three quarters to lead visiting San Antonio in a rout over slumping Orlando. The Spurs were playing a night after winning in Dallas on a last-second shot by DeRozan, and they showed no signs of fatigue in cruising to the easy win.
Grizzlies 101, Bulls 90: Jonas Valanciunas had 26 points and 14 rebounds, leading a fourth-quarter burst that carried host Memphis past Chicago. Valanciunas, who had 32 points and 22 rebounds a night earlier in a loss to the Pacers, scored 10 in the fourth as Memphis used an 18-6 run to break open a close game.
Wizards 125, Jazz 121: Russell Westbrook put together 25 points, 14 assists and 14 rebounds as Washington ended Utah’s franchise-record home winning streak at 24 games. Bradley Beal had 34 points, and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 42.
Pelicans 117, Kings 110: Brandon Ingram scored 34 points, Zion Williamson added 30 points and host New Orleans held off a Sacramento comeback. The Pelicans’ 26-point, second-quarter lead was trimmed to four in the final minute. The Kings lost their seventh straight.
Nets-Timberwolves, postponed:
Minnesota’s game against Brooklyn at the Target Center was postponed Monday following the fatal shooting of a Black motorist by a police officer Sunday. A state of emergency had been declared in Minneapolis and St. Paul, with a 7 p.m. curfew. Daunte Wright was shot during a traffic stop by a police officer who, according to Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon, deployed a firearm instead of a Taser.