Julius Randle led the way as the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Raptors, 120-103, on Saturday. Sure enough, the All-Star forward has some extra motivation in the contest with his son watching among the few fans in attendance.

In fact, Randle and his son shared a heartwarming moment, sending some flying kisses from the sidelines. Of course, young Kyden also showed his support to his dad throughout the Raptors-Knicks contest.

Julius Randle certainly put on a display for his son, as he finished the game with 31 points and 10 boards while shooting 58.8 percent from the field and 5-of-7 from deep. There was a time when Raptors guard Fred VanVleet went on a tear after the birth of his son. Perhaps, Randle had a similar feeling this game. 

Randle took a massive leap in his development this season and is one of the biggest reasons why winning basketball is back at Madison Square Garden. His Knicks running mate RJ Barrett also improved this season, shattering the notion of a sophomore slump in his career.

While Barrett has some off-shooting nights, he is still just 20 years old and getting better all-around. Prior to Saturday's contest, he was averaging 17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.9 per game with improved percentages from the field and downtown.  

Much of the credit with the Knicks' transformation goes to new head coach Thibodeau, who brought much-needed culture change to the organization after years of mediocrity or worse.  

With the recent win, New York maintains their hold on the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference and is a team to watch out for in the playoffs. These are not the Knicks we have been accustomed to recently.