Knicks’ Julius Randle continues dominant stretch in win against Spurs

Julius Randle, New York Knicks
Jan 2, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) brings the ball up court in the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

New York Knicks power forward Julius Randle continued his mesmerizing stretch of basketball in their 117-114 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.

Randle stuffed the stat sheet in the victory on Wednesday, cashing in:

  • 25 points
  • 13 rebounds
  • 3 assists
  • 3 steals
  • 4 blocks
  • +9

Wednesday’s game was the eighth consecutive game that Randle scored 25 or more points. Although it was not Randle’s best night from an efficiency standpoint, shooting just 9-26 from the field and 1-8 from deep, he had his best night on the defensive side of the ball and was still able to provide a solid impact in the scoring department.

The big story of the night was his teammate Jalen Brunson, who cashed in a new regular season career-high 38 points, including some clutch buckets down the stretch. However, Randle’s latest performance was a continuation of a seemingly never-ending run of brilliant basketball from the power forward.

Over Randle’s last 15 games, he is putting up some absurd numbers, averaging 29.1 PPG, 12.4 RPG, and 4.4 APG. He is also shooting 46.5% from the field and 36.2% from beyond the arc during that stretch.

Randle’s resurging performance this season has brought his season averages up, as he is now averaging a double-double this season with 24.2 PPG and 10 RPG. His 24.2 PPG is a new personal career-high and ranks fourth in the NBA amongst all players at the power forward position. He is also one of just three power forwards in the entire NBA averaging 10 or more rebounds per game this season.

His defense has also been a massively improved aspect of his game recently, as in his last five games, his defensive rating is 106.5, good for a net rating of 10.2. The defense had been a huge issue for Randle for most of last season and through the early portions of this season, but he has turned that around tremendously and is largely contributing to winning.

Randle is arguably having a better season than the one that saw him make an All-Star appearance as well as All-NBA second team. This prolonged stretch of basketball he is having on both sides of the floor could very well get him into another All-Star game, and it would be very deserving. He is playing at his highest potential in nearly every aspect possible. Teams simply can not handle Randle right now.

Randle will look to continue to strengthen his All-Star campaign when the Knicks take on the Raptors in Toronto on Friday night.

Follow this writer on Twitter: @DylanBacker_