Julius Randle, gritty Knicks edge out Lakers to cap successful trip out West
NY Post
LOS ANGELES — At least on this night, Julius Randle got the better of LeBron James.
Randle won the battle of power forwards against the ageless wonder Monday, dropping a hard-fought 27 points with 13 rebounds as the Knicks escaped Crypto.com Arena with a 114-109 victory over the Lakers.
Battered and bruised throughout the roster — with Randle getting stitches on his lip, Jalen Brunson absorbing a black eye and Isaiah Hartenstein’s left arm bloodied from a gash — the Knicks were satisfied with the performance.
“Scratch it out, gut it out,” Tom Thibodeau said.
James, the oldest active player in the NBA, produced 25 points in 39 minutes with a triple-double, but missed 13 of his 23 attempts as L.A.’s comeback attempt fell short in front of a several former players and celebrities, including Stephon Marbury and Ron Artest.
Fittingly, New York’s victory was sealed when James bricked a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left, leading to Randle’s breakaway jam on the other end.
PHOENIX — Wednesday brought some cautiously optimistic updates for the Knicks frontcourt.
The Greatest Escape in franchise history was perpetrated by Glen Sather, when the general manager extricated himself and the Rangers from the final five years of Scott Gomez’s contract by moving the $7,357,143-per-year center to Montreal on June 30, 2009 after two years in New York.
The Yankees publicly are on the same page: Hal Steinbrenner, like Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone before him, said that issues with the club’s fundamentals did not hover over the team all season.
The first day of the rest of Daniel Jones’ dwindling time with the Giants arrived Wednesday, with Jones in the building, in the meetings, on the practice field (although not doing very much) and not at all part of the game plan for the next game, relegated to a non-participant role for the remainder of the season.
There will be a little extra magic for Knicks-Spurs on Christmas Day.
The quickest way for the Giants to climb out of quarterback hell is also the quickest way to extend their stay there for at least three more years.
The Lakers’ decision to keep Bronny James away from G League road games has sparked some debate about the level of preferential treatment the franchise is giving to LeBron’s son.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Rangers continue to flex their strength on the road this season.
One of Tom Thibodeau’s stated points of emphasis for the Knicks this season — to increase their volume of 3-point attempts to take advantage of their proficiency from the outside — is starting to come to fruition.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — It’s the best-case scenario for Filip Chytil and the Rangers.