BBNBA: Julius Randle gets 25 and 14; leads Knicks to 7th straight win

Julius Randle flexed on the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, with an outpouring of 25 points and 14 rebounds en route to the Knicks’ seventh straight victory. This marks Randle’s 13th double-double on the year and his third in a row. No team is hotter in the NBA right now than the New York Knickerbockers and the former Kentucky big man is a major reason why.

Randle entered this season under some scrutiny about whether or not he has the potential to be a cornerstone on a championship team. After somewhat of a slow start, he has his team rolling now, as the combination of him, RJ Barrett, and the team’s new addition, Jalen Brunson, appears to be starting to gel nicely. The Knicks starting lineup looks like a major league bullpen out there with all those lefties.

Randle’s teammate, Immanuel Quickley, continues to be a solid contributor off the bench. On top of this lockdown defense, IQ chipped in five points on Sunday. Next, the Knicks will face defending NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors, on Tuesday, to see if they can keep their win streak alive.

For the Pacers, Isaiah Jackson hasn’t quite been able to catapult his impressive summer league into the regular season yet. He finished the night with two points and eight rebounds.

Third-year Nick Richards continues to impress

There is just something about third-year Nick Richards. Though the Charlotte Hornets fell to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, Richards had 11 points, six rebounds, and a game-high three blocks in 24 minutes of action on Sunday. This season, Richards ranks in the 98th percentile of all NBA players in offensive-rebounding efficiency, thanks in large part to his improved positioning. Smart play often beats pure physicality.

Richards outperformed his teammate, PJ Washington, who had 10 points and six rebounds in 31 minutes. Washington keeps looking for consistency as he hopes to maximize his next contract when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

As for the Nuggets, hats off to Nikola Jokic. Here I was gushing over Julius Randle’s 25 points and 14 rebounds, but the Joker had a cartoonishly impressive 40-point, 27-rebound, 10-assist performance. This was the first time any player has had a 35-point, 25-rebound triple-double since Wilt Chamberlain. Credit where it’s due.

Jamal Murray did what he could do to help out this phenomenal stat line by leading the team in assists with 11, many of which were to the Joker. He also helped pad Jokic’s rebounding numbers by shooting just 2-11 from the field (0-6 from behind the arc), giving the reigning two-time MVP plenty of opportunities for offensive boards. Murray is a team player.

Other BBNBA Notes

• Kevin Knox and the Detroit Pistons put a scare into the Brooklyn Nets, but ultimately squandered their big lead in the 4th quarter. Knox had nine points in 17 minutes off the bench. Once again, Nerlens Noel and Hamidou Diallo did not enter the game.
• Otherwise, the former Kentucky players whose teams played on Sunday are injured. The Minnesota Timberwolves scored a franchise-record 150 points without Karl-Anthony Towns in the lineup, as KAT remains out with a calf strain.
• One thing that has kept Julius Randle’s momentum going this season has been his health. The same cannot be said for his Kentucky brethren out west. In addition to Wenyen Gabriel‘s shoulder keeping him sidelined, Anthony Davis suffered a foot injury and the Lakers expect him to be out for at least a month. This news comes just as Davis was playing some of his best basketball in years, and to be bitten by the injury bug yet again has to be extremely demoralizing. Speedy recovery to the Brow.

12/18/2022 Statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	MIN	+/-
Julius Randle (NYK)	109-106 W vs. IND	25	7-17 (2-8)	14	3	0	0	3	39	+5
Nick Richards (CHA)	115-119 L vs. DEN	11	5-8 (0-0)	6	1	0	3	0	24	+5
PJ Washington (CHA)	115-119 L vs. DEN	10	4-12 (2-6)	6	1	1	1	1	31	-13
Kevin Knox (DET)	121-124 L vs. BRK	9	3-6 (1-3)	3	0	1	0	1	17	-12
Jamal Murray (DEN)	119-115 W vs. CHA	6	2-11 (0-6)	1	11	0	0	3	35	+12
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	109-106 W vs. IND	5	2-8 (1-2)	1	2	1	0	0	22	-5
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	106-109 L vs. NYK	2	1-1 (0-0)	8	0	0	0	2	15	+5
Wenyen Gabriel (LAL)	119-117 W vs. WAS	DNP – Shoulder
Anthony Davis (LAL)	119-117 W vs. WAS	DNP – Foot
Hamidou Diallo (DET)	121-124 L vs. BRK	DNP – CD
Nerlens Noel (DET)	121-124 L vs. BRK	DNP – CD
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	150-126 W vs. CHI	DNP – Calf

Tonight in the NBA

7:00: Jazz (Vanderbilt) @ Cavaliers
7:00: Raptors @ 76ers (Maxey)
7:30: Magic @ Hawks
8:00: Spurs (Johnson) @ Rockets (T. Washington)
8:00: Mavericks @ Timberwolves (Towns)
8:00: Bucks @ Pelicans
8:00: Trail Blazers (Sharpe) @ Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander)
9:00 (NBA TV): Lakers (Davis, Gabriel) @ Suns (Booker)
10:00: Hornets (Richards, PJ Washington) @ Kings (Fox, Monk, Lyles)