Julius Randle ties career high with 46 points as Knicks rally to overcome 19-point deficit against Wizards

A crowning moment for King Julius.

All-Star Julius Randle tied a career high 46 points and assisted on the dagger in a 115-109 victory Friday night over the Wizards, as the Knicks recovered from an early 19-point deficit in their fourth straight victory.

Randle knocked down 7-of-14 treys, showing he’s better from the outside when it really matters after his dud in the 3-point contest during All-Star weekend. Still, the game was in the balance after Washington’s Bradley Beal tied the score with 59 seconds remaining. Then Jalen Brunson, who otherwise struggled Friday, hit the go-ahead layup over the outstretched arm of Kristaps Porzingis.

On the ensuing Knicks possession, Randle’s dish to a wide open Mitchell Robinson for a dunk sealed the victory.

“He was terrific,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Big shot after big shot.”

As a result, the Knicks (34-27) moved a season-high seven games over .500. They’ve won six of their last seven and are just one game out of fifth in the East behind the Nets, who were destroyed Friday night by the Bulls.

Josh Hart again closed the game at forward, keeping multiple important possessions alive by hustling after loose balls. The controversy was RJ Barrett again being glued to the bench again down the stretch, with both Hart and Immanuel Quickley finishing on the wings for defensive purposes. The last time Barrett was benched in the fourth quarter he silently protested by refusing to talk to the media. The difference Friday was the Knicks won.

Barrett finished with 14 points in just 28 minutes.

The Wizards couldn’t slow down Julius Randle. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

“A lot of it is flow of the game,” Thibodeau said of his lineups down the stretch. “Like I said, I love our depth. We have a number of guys that are coming off the bench that are starters. There’s no dropoff. So whoever is going good, whatever the best matchup is, that’s what we’re going to go with. …So we need everyone. We’re asking guys to sacrifice. Some guys would like to start and they’re not starting. And some guys would like more shots and more minutes. That’s common. But everyone has to put the team first.”

It started ugly for the Knicks, who gave up wide open 3-pointers and trailed by as many as 19 in the first half. To make matters worse, Porzingis, the one who got away from the Knicks, was the catalyst to Washington’s early onslaught with 19 points in the opening quarter, nailing all five of his treys.

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But then Randle awoke from the All-Star break slumber and took control. Randle blew by Porzingis at will and scored 25 in the first half, boosting the Knicks to a 10-0 run that cut the deficit to 4 at the break. Randle scored 11 points in the final 2 ½ minutes of the half. He also switched onto Porzingis defensively and held the Latvian scoreless in the second quarter.

[ Rising to No. 5 in the Eastern Conference is an attainable goal for the Knicks ]

The Knicks then scored eight straight points to start the second half, making it an 18–0 run that provided the visitors their second lead of the night.

Porzingis, meanwhile, only scored four points after the first quarter and finished with 23 and six rebounds.

Brunson clearly lost some momentum during the All-Star break. He entered averaging over 30 points in his previous 10 games but managed just 13 on Friday on a rough 6-for-20 shooting. But he added nine assists and the go-ahead bucket with 42 seconds left.

Robinson returned from thumb surgery for his first game in over a month, starting at center and contributing 12 rebounds in 28 minutes. As expected, Isaiah Hartenstein remained the backup and Jericho Sims was removed from the rotation.

The Knicks went 8-6 during the latest stretch without Robinson, who has struggled with injuries throughout his career.

On Friday, Robinson shot 5-for-6 with 10 points.