BBNBA: Julius Randle drops season-high 36 on 28th birthday

Julius Randle isn’t putting up the same stellar numbers he did during his debut All-Star campaign in 2020-21, but he sure is making up for the shortcomings that hindered him in 2021-22.

On Tuesday night in a 140-110 win over the Detroit Pistons, Randle poured in a season-high 36 points for the New York Knicks on what was his 28th birthday. He shot 14-24 overall from the floor, including a 6-13 mark from beyond the arc, to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and three turnovers in just 31 minutes of action. He didn’t even need to play in the fourth quarter.

”(Randle) was super aggressive early and he got into a great rhythm,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the win. ”He always does a good job of moving without the ball and his teammates were searching him out tonight.”

The Knicks came into Tuesday night losing four of its last five outings, with the lone win needing an overtime effort. Although this most recent victory came against the lowly Pistons, which sits at the bottom of the NBA standings with a 5-18 record, it was much needed. New York is now 10-11 on the season and right in the mix for a playoff spot.

Through 21 games played this season (all starts), Randle is averaging 21.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per outing on an improved shooting split of 47.2/34.3/76.4. He was aided on Tuesday by 15 points and four rebounds from fellow former Kentucky Wildcat, Immanuel Quickley, who remains in purgatory with Coach Thibodeau as a semi-regular rotational piece.

On the Pistons side of things, Hamidou Diallo led Detroit’s trio of one-time ‘Cats with nine points and four rebounds on 4-5 shooting in just 14 minutes. Kevin Knox found the floor for 17 minutes, but only managed five points, three rebounds, and two blocks on a 1-4 mark from the field. The third and final Kentucky player from the Pistons group, Nerlens Noel, was sidelined due to left knee soreness. Noel, 28, has played just six games this season for the Pistons, averaging 1.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per outing.

Other BBNBA notes

• With it being a light, three-game slate on Tuesday night, the only other note we have is on Shaedon Sharpe, who went for five points on 2-7 shooting in the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112 loss to the LA Clippers, which was without backup point guard John Wall as he battles through minor knee pain.

11/29/22 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Julius Randle (NYK)	140-110 W @ DET	36	14-24 (6-13)	7	5	1	0	3	36	31
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	140-110 W @ DET	15	7-12 (0-2)	1	4	0	0	3	-3	22
Hamidou Diallo (DET)	110-140 L vs. NYK	9	4-5	1	4	0	1	1	-2	14
Kevin Knox (DET)	110-140 L vs. NYK	5	1-4 (0-3)	3	1	1	2	0	-2	17
Shaedon Sharpe (POR)	112-118 L vs. LAC	5	2-7	1	1	1	0	1	-11	14
Nerlens Noel (DET)	110-140 L vs. NYK	DNP-Knee	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
John Wall (LAC)	118-112 W @ POR	DNP-Knee	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Tonight in the NBA

7:00: 76ers (Maxey: out) @ Cavaliers
7:00: Hawks @ Magic
7:30 (NBA TV): Heat (Adebayo, Herro: questionable) @ Celtics
7:30: Wizards @ Nets
7:30: Bucks @ Knicks (Quickley, Randle)
8:00: Grizzlies @ Timberwolves (Towns: out)
8:00: Raptors @ Pelicans
8:00: Spurs (Johnson) @ Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander: questionable)
9:00: Rockets @ Nuggets (Murray)
9:00: Bulls @ Suns (Booker)
9:00: Clippers (Wall) @ Jazz (Vanderbilt)
10:00: Pacers (Jackson) @ Kings (Fox, Lyles: doubtful, Monk)
10:30 (NBA TV): Trail Blazers (Sharpe) @ Lakers (Davis: probable, Gabriel)