The New York Knicks have been one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference this season and they’ve rebounded well from a poor start to the season. A big part of that has been the play of Julius Randle. Randle was named to his second All-Star selection this season and is having one of the best seasons of his career. He came out blazing against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first quarter on Sunday with 18 points including 14 straight at one point for the Knicks. His outburst predictably had NBA Twitter and Knicks fans going crazy on social media.
Julius Randle with FORCE 😤
He's got 18 points and 4 rebounds in the first quarter.pic.twitter.com/yXUR92ZWHl
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 13, 2023
Lakers really let Julius randle drop 18 first quarter points pic.twitter.com/uEs3NtVsqf
— just a king from LA 👑🐐 (@JustAKingFromLA) March 13, 2023
Julius Randle has 18 first quarter points tonight after having only 19 points total last night.
— mads (@phxsunz25) March 13, 2023
Julius Randle just dropped 18 first quarter points!
— TimeoutSPORTS__ (@TimeoutSPORTS3) March 13, 2023
Knicks lead 31-27 after the first. The catalyst, Julius Randle. 18 points 4 rebounds after one quarter. #NewYorkForever
— New York Sports Central (@NYSportCentral_) March 13, 2023
Bro Julius Randle plays so well in the first quarter, if only it can just translate in the 4th quarter more often!
— Miggy the Dove🕊️ & Shai🍁 thinker💭 (@chloaithinker) March 13, 2023
As one Knicks fan pointed out, Julius Randle has had a tendency to have strong starts in first quarters this season but hasn’t been able to sustain the momentum for a full game for some reason. Randle is a two-time All-Star now with both of his appearances coming since he joined the Knicks.
Randle’s career has taken off since signing with the Knicks as a free agent in the 2019 offseason. Randle originally began his NBA career with the Lakers when he was drafted by them with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 draft. This season Randle has been averaging a career-high 25.1 points per game, a career-high 10.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists with shooting splits of 45.9 percent shooting from the field, 34.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and 75.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Behind Randle’s strong play, the Knicks are currently 39-30 and in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.