Payton, Knicks slow down Trail Blazers
NEW YORK — Julius Randle believes times could be changing at Madison Square Garden.
“We feel like we have a good shot to win every night,” Randle said after the New York Knicks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 110-99 on Saturday.
Randle and Elfrid Payton scored 22 points apiece as the Knicks won their second straight and improved to 11-13. RJ Barrett scored 18 points, Alec Burks added 16 and fellow reserve Immanuel Quickley had 12.
“We feel like we can get even better,” Randle added. “We have a lot of guys who can bring (a lot of ) different things to the table.”
The Trail Blazers went home disappointed with the result but not despondent. Damian Lillard said the lesson of the shorthanded Blazers’ six-game road trip was they can still be productive even when facing adversity if they stay together.
“Obviously, we came in wanting to go 4-2, but I think given the circumstances, if we come on this this trip and we leave splitting it 3-3, we’ll take it,” Lillard said. “So I think that’s the lesson and (a) little disappointing to not be able to get this one tonight. We really wanted to get it and that would have been a great trip for us but we didn’t.”
The All-Star guard scored 29 points in his return to the lineup but Portland had its two-game winning streak end. Lillard, who missed Portland’s 121-105 victory at Philadelphia on Thursday with a strained abdomen, started and played 38 minutes.
Gary Trent Jr. added 19 for the Trail Blazers. Enes Kanter and Robert Covington had 13 apiece, and Anfrenee Simons finished with 12.
New York led 57-51 at the half and 84-76 after the third quarter, having outscored Portland 58-45 in the middle two quarters.
“We’re doing the things that are necessary right now,” Barrett said.
Portland cut it to 90-85 after Simons’ three-point play, but New York outscored Portland 16-7 in a span of 4:35 to extend its lead to 106-92. The spurt was highlighted by a breakaway dunk from Payton, and Burks draining a pullup 25-footer.
76ERS 124, NETS 108
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid scored 33 points and Ben Simmons had 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a victory over the shorthanded Brooklyn Nets.
Tobias Harris added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Eastern Conferenceleading 76ers, who have won five of six.
James Harden had 26 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Brooklyn, which was without stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
Irving is day to day with a right finger sprain, and Durant is out for a week due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Simmons, reportedly an important piece of a potential Philadelphia-Houston trade that never materialized when Harden landed in Brooklyn last month in a blockbuster deal, played aggressively throughout.
Simmons’ highlight was a steal and fast-break dunk over Tyler Johnson with 59 seconds left in the third quarter. Simmons finished with three steals.