Julius Randle had stressed that the Knicks “definitely have to take advantage” of the fact NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal wasn’t playing for the Wizards on Friday night.
Randle, a potential All-Star forward, got back on track after one of his worst offensive games of the season, with 24 points and a season-high 18 rebounds to lead the Knicks to a 109-91 victory in Washington.
The win came with a price, however, as starting center Mitchell Robinson fractured his right hand late in the second quarter after recording a double-double, with 10 points and 14 rebounds, in less than 20 minutes of playing time.
“We feel for him, but we have to get ready for the next one. As you know, the games keep coming,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of Robinson, who will be reevaluated Saturday in New York. “I thought Nerlens [Noel] stepped in and did a great job in the second half, and that’s the great value of having a guy like Taj [Gibson] on the roster.
“So, next man up. We’ve got to circle the wagons and got to be ready to go.”
Julius Randle led the Knicks to a win over the Wizards on Friday night. Getty ImagesDerrick Rose contributed 14 points and six assists with four steals in 20 minutes off the bench in his second game back with the Knicks (12-15) after he was acquired Sunday from the Pistons. Rookie Immanuel Quickley scored 16 points and Elfrid Payton finished with 12.
The Wizards’ Russell Westbrook finished one rebound shy of a triple-double — 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds — in the absence of Beal, who leads the NBA with 32.8 points per game.
The Knicks are keeping an eye on Beal as a possible trade target. They’re looking, too, at Rockets star Victor Oladipo, who also is slated to miss Saturday’s game against the Knicks at the Garden with a foot and ankle injury.
“We know that we just have to go out and play our game,” Rose said. “We know that with the guys that are stepping in for those guys, this is a pro league, everybody’s here for a reason.
“So if we go out and match their intensity, play the way we know how to play, we’re almost in every game. … If we go out and do what we’re supposed to do, we know it’s going to be in our favor, if we go out and play as hard as we can.”
Robinson totaled four dunks and grabbed seven rebounds in the first quarter, which ended with the Knicks holding a 30-23 advantage.
Rose and Quickley combined for six points off the bench early in the second quarter, and Rose flipped an entry feed to Obi Toppin (eight points) for a dunk for a 40-31 lead barely four minutes into the session.
Rose also found Randle for a stuff a few minutes later for a 45-34 lead. Randle had endured his poorest shooting game of the season (4-for-18) and scored just 12 points in Tuesday’s two-point loss at Miami.
Without Robinson after intermission, the Knicks’ starters were outscored 13-5 to open the third to cut their 53-42 halftime lead to three. But they closed the quarter on a 9-0 run — including a late three-point play by Randle — for a 79-64 lead entering the fourth.
“I thought we got off to a good start and then we got sloppy for a bit. I thought our bench gave us great minutes in the first half. Sort of, we got control there,” Thibodeau said. “We didn’t close the second quarter well, and the third was a little choppy. And the bench came in again, and sort of got us going again.”







