Knicks 103, 76ers 96: Scenes from the return of clutch, three-bombing Julius Randle

The New York Knicks took on a depleted 76ers squad in Philly Monday evening. The Sixers were missing Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Matisse Thybulle, among others. Still, this team had a host of talented, hard-working players. Knicks fans have seen this script play out a few times this season, and it hasn’t played out very well for the ‘Bockers.

And it nearly crushed our hearts again, as the Knicks let a 19-point lead slip away. The Sixers cut the deficit to one, and the Knicks looked completely out of sorts. They needed someone to step up.

On this night, they got help from an old friend. Julius Randle has been a frustrating player to watch at times, but he’s still their centerpiece. And he played like it in crunch time Monday, hitting a ton of big shots to propel the Knicks to a 103-96 victory.

Fans have been yelling at Julius to take more open threes instead of driving into contested mid-range pullup jumpers, and the old three-chucking Randle of yesterday showed up just when they needed him.

Randle hit 5-10 from beyond the arc en route to a 31-point night.

Credit also goes to Kemba Walker, who struggled most of the night, but displayed his old floor general qualities late in the game.

And when Kemba missed, Julius was there to put the game on ice.

Credit RJ Barrett with the celebratory cross-check.

Recap to come.