Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle have formed a dangerous and productive one-two punch for the Knicks over the past two seasons, and both have been in the conversation for All-Star berths this season.
Still, Randle has endured a few tough games when Brunson isn't in uniform. That includes the past two games the potential first-time All-Star guard missed with a calf injury.
Randle scored 15 points on Monday's MLK Day game against the Magic at The Garden on 5-of-18 shooting, his second of his past 25 appearances as a player under 20 years old.
Brunson, who also missed Saturday's win at Memphis, was officially listed as questionable again on the injury report for Wednesday's home tilt against the Rockets.
“Yeah, they loaded up. [Randle] It was pretty good,” Tom Thibodeau said of the double-team magic after Monday’s game. “The rim has size. … Once you get past the first line, his second line is waiting for you.” [center] Isaiah [Hartenstein] When he gets into foul trouble, he can pull people away from the basket. We missed that part too.
“We need Julius, he doesn't usually play games like that. I thought he was doing other things for us. Julius gets you in different ways. He can beat you. He can beat you with his passes. I thought we had good possession with the dribble handoff with him and that allowed us to get on the ball pretty early. That part was good. But it was choppy.”
Randle played well in three games, averaging 35.0 points and 13.7 rebounds on 16-of-37 shooting, while Brunson missed last season's trip to the Texas Triangle with a hip injury. 43.2%).
But in the last 10 games Brunson didn't play, the two-time All-Star power forward averaged 23.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists with 31 turnovers and a 38.7% FG percentage and a 26.7 FG percentage. % (24 successful shots). -90) from 3-point distance.
The Knicks scored just 16 points in the fourth quarter and didn't make a field goal in six minutes of overtime, but they trailed by seven points with just nine minutes remaining.
Despite praising fill-in starter Myles McBride, who scored a career-high 20 points in 36 minutes on Monday, Randle called the Knicks' offense “too stagnant” without Brunson. .
Against the Magic, he missed 27 of 40 3-pointers and shot 39.8 from the field overall.
“Obviously we're missing JB. He's big for us. He's tough. But it was enough to win that game,” Randle said, though he missed two crucial free throws with 2:37 left. It was a miss, and the Knicks had a one-point lead. “They are collapsing [on me], but I also missed a lot of easy shots. ”
The Knicks canceled Tuesday's practice, but Thibodeau plans to play after Monday's game against the Rockets, where Brunson's starting point guard is 19-20 after signing former Raptors point guard Fred. When asked if that was the case, Branson said he was “living hand to mouth.” Over the summer, VanVleet became a free agent.
Brunson tested his bruised left calf on MSG court before Monday's game, which Thibodeau said was “a little bit better” — but the Knicks need him to be a steadying presence, especially late in the game. Missed.
“Pain tolerance. He just goes through his routine and gets ready to play,” Thibodeau said. “You know, I trust him. When he's ready to leave, he'll let us know.
“When he's ready, he's ready. We have more than enough to win.”
McBride, who signed a three-year contract extension worth $13 million after RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley were sent to Toronto in the trade for OG Anunoby in late December, started the first two games of the season. He scored 19 points and 20 points. of Branson.
