Julius Randle scores 36 as Knicks rout Pistons
DETROIT — Julius Randle scored a season-high 36 points on his 28th birthday, and the New York Knicks extended their win streak against the Detroit Pistons to 11 games with a 140-110 victory on Tuesday night.
Randle was 14 for 24 from the field. He also had seven rebounds and five assists.
"He was super aggressive early and he got into a great rhythm," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He always does a good job of moving without the ball and his teammates were searching him out tonight."
Quentin Grimes, RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson each scored 16 points for New York, which had lost four of five. Mitchell Robinson grabbed 13 rebounds, and reserve Immanuel Quickley had 15 points.
"We've been scoring a ton of points ... and it is because of how we're playing as a team," Thibodeau said. "We're sharing the ball, we're making plays and we're getting to the line a lot. I like where we are offensively, and the rebounding was really good tonight."
Isaiah Stewart scored 19 points for Detroit, which hasn't beaten New York since Jan. 7, 2020. Bojan Bogdanovic and Marvin Bagley III each had 13 points.
"I think tonight was a delayed reaction to the West Coast trip," Pistons coach Dwane Casey. "I expected a game like this on Monday, but we put up a fight in that one. This one was a stinker.
"We've been playing excellent basketball lately, but that didn't happen tonight."
The Pistons were missing two starters — Cade Cunningham (shin) and Jalen Ivey (knee) — but got back Bogdanovic (ankle) and Stewart (foot).
The Knicks led 70-56 at the break. Randle went 6 for 11 on 3-pointers in a 26-point half as New York outshot Detroit 52.4% to 36.8% from behind the arc.
"He's an old-school power forward, so he gets a lot of points at the rim, and when he's shooting like he did tonight, he's tough," Casey said. "When he got those first couple 3s to go down, I knew it was going to be a long night."
Randle scored three quick baskets to start the third and drew a technical foul when he was shoved after a dunk by Stewart. That moved New York's lead to 21 at 80-59.
It was 108-77 at the end of the third, thanks to a 38-point quarter for the Knicks that included 10 more points for Randle. That allowed Thibodeau to rest his starters with the Milwaukee Bucks coming to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
"There are times in this league when the schedule works in your favor and times when it works against you," he said. "This is a tough spot, but it brought out the best in our players tonight."
TIP INS
Knicks: The 11-game winning streak against Detroit is the longest in the series since an early version of the Bad Boys beat New York 12 straight times in the late 1980s. ... New York has scored at least 120 points in all three games against the Pistons this season.
Pistons: Bogdanovic hit one 3-pointer, giving him 1,283 for his career and tying him with Mookie Blaylock for 64th on the NBA list. ... Alec Burks didn't score, ending his streak of double-digit games off the bench at six.
TOUGH SCHEDULE
Detroit was playing its eighth game in 13 days, with the first six coming on a West Coast trip.
"This is one I put on the schedule," Casey said.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
Pistons: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.