The New York Knicks continue to roll as they moved to 20-19 on the season following their 119-97 drubbing of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The tandem of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle led the way on Saturday night and both made franchise history in the process.
Per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Barrett became just the third Knicks player ever to drop a 30-point outing before turning the age of 21, joining the late Hall of Famer Carl Braun and his teammate Kevin Knox. Meanwhile, Randle became the fifth Knick to notch at least two triple-doubles in a season. The All-Star forward is the first to do so in over three decades, following Mark Jackson who recorded two trip-dubs in the 1988-89 season.
Knicks 119
Thunder 97Knicks 20-19 this season, t-5th in the East
RJ Barrett: 32 points, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl
Julius Barrett: 26 pts/12 reb/12 ast
Immanuel Quickley: 21 points/4 ast
Alec Burks: 15 points
Knicks shoot 40% on 35 3sMore on Barrett: https://t.co/C4kMWm5Eew pic.twitter.com/j1IulVwElU
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) March 13, 2021
RJ Barrett is the third Knicks player ever to score 30+ points before his 21st birthday (Carl Braun and Kevin Knox are the others).
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) March 13, 2021
Julius Randle is the first Knicks player to have two or more triple-doubles in a season since Mark Jackson in 1988-89. Jackson had 2 triple-doubles in 1987-88 too. Only four Knicks have ever had more than two triple-doubles in a season.
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) March 13, 2021
At 20-19, the Knicks are contending for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.
RJ Barrett finished with a game-high 32 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and three steals, all while shooting 12-of-21 from the field and connecting on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Julius Randle dropped 26 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists and knocked down three triples as well.
Both previously overlooked and underappreciated, Randle and Barrett are proving that they are capable of leading a team into the playoffs. The two lefties have been balling out all season long and are major reasons why the Knicks are having a resurgence. The arrival of head coach Tom Thibodeau has certainly done wonders for this young and motivated group. Thibs has created a hard-nosed culture focused on defense and grit.
At this point of the season, the Knicks currently post the no. 4 defensive rating across the entire league, per NBA.com.
The Knicks are undoubtedly the best Cinderella story of the 2020-21 NBA season so far.