Knicks defeat the Cavs 95-86 as Julius Randle records a triple double

It’s still a long way to go but let’s just appreciate what we’ve seen these couple of games. Julius Randle has revamped himself and has taken the role of team locomotive. Last night, as the Knicks cut the Cavs’ perfect record on their own turf, Randle posted his first triple double in more than two years, with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a 95-86 win that placed the Knicks back at 0.500.

The power forward also recorded 9 turnovers but from the field he shot 6-19 including 4-4 from behind the arc.

“We’ve got great spacing and when the defense collapses, I know I can make the right play. When you get wide-open shots, it makes it easier for everybody.”

– Julius Randle

Reggie Bullock, Randle’s Robin of the night, backed him with 17 points and 7 rebounds. 15 of his points were threes. Per team, New York made 14 three pointers from 25 attempts and are currently leading the league with a 45.9 percentage.

The Knicks built a 16 point lead in the first quarter, the Cavs fought back and tied the game late in the second but still trailed by 7 at halftime. They never taken the lead for the rest of the game and never cut the gap to less than 7 points in the fourth quarter.

The backcourt duo Elfrid Payton and RJ Barrett combined 26 points. Payton also grabbed 8 rebounds and dished 7 assists while Barrett posted 7 boards as well. Mitchell Robinson had 9 points 10 boards and 2 blocks.

Coach Tim Thibodeau relied mostly on his starters and used only three reserves for 16 minutes each. Kevin Knox lead the bench with 6 points – flawless from the three point line, Frank Ntilikina scored 5 and Nerlens Noel added 4 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

The Cavs, who played without Kevin Love, were led by Colin Sexton’s 20 points. Andre Drummond had an impressive game with 18 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocks. However, Cleveland’s shot selection was overall poor. They shot 32-88 from the field with 7-32 from long distance. Former Knick, Damyean Dotson scored 5 points off the bench.

Next-up: The Knicks (2-2) will travel to Tampa, Florida on Thursday to take on the winless Raptors (0-3).