Randle erupts for career-high 46; Sabonis ejected as Knicks destroy Kings in second half
The Kings played a nearly flawless first half to amass a 20-point lead over the New York Knicks. The second half was so bad they found themselves trailing by 23 and Domantas Sabonis got ejected for the first time in his six-year NBA career.
Julius Randle erupted for a career-high 46 points and 10 rebounds on a wild night in Sacramento, helping the Knicks storm back from a big deficit to beat the Kings 131-115 on Monday night at Golden 1 Center.
Randle made 18 of 31 from the field and 8 of 16 from 3-point range to surpass his previous career high of 45 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 15, 2019. He also established career highs for 3-point goals and 3-point attempts.
“I thought Julius was great,” interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry said. “He had some easy baskets, but he also made a ton of challenged 3s that he’s been struggling with all season. He got on a roll and they took advantage of it.”
The Knicks were held to 48 points in the first half, but they obliterated the Kings with an 83-point second half. It was the most points the Knicks have scored in a second half since they had 83 against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 28, 1969; and the most they’ve scored in any half since putting up 84 against the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 18, 1988.
“We just couldn’t get them stopped at all,” Gentry said. “Eighty-three points is just an astronomical number to give up.”
RJ Barrett had 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Knicks (27-38), who were on the second night of a back-to-back after snapping a seven-game losing streak with a 114-113 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. Immanuel Quickley came off the bench to post 27 points, six rebounds and four assists.
De’Aaron Fox had 24 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (24-43), who trail the New Orleans Pelicans by 4 ½ games for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference with 15 games remaining. Harrison Barnes finished with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting, going 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Sabonis had 19 points, 13 rebounds and five assists before he was ejected with 4:35 to play in the fourth quarter. Sabonis had played 410 career games without being tossed, but he argued vehemently after being called for a foul on Quickley and was slapped just as quickly with two technical fouls, resulting in his ejection.
“It was just a frustrating game,” Sabonis said. “I feel like we keep getting these leads playing the right way, and we just can’t come out in the second half and sustain it. It gets frustrating, especially when you’re fighting for position. … It’s been three or four games that we’ve blown a lead like that. It’s frustrating when you don’t win.”
The Kings jumped out to a 12-2 lead with Sabonis dominating inside. Knicks center Mitchell Robinson went to the bench after picking up two fouls in the first 1:40 and headed to the locker room. The Knicks later announced Robinson would not return due to illness.
The Kings led by as many as 20 in the second quarter and carried a 63-48 advantage into the halftime break, but they fell apart in the third period. The Knicks opened the second half with a couple of 10-2 runs and followed with a 12-2 run to take an 87-82 lead with 2:53 to play in the third. The Kings got within two early in the fourth, but Randle, Barrett and Quickley put on a show down the stretch, combing for 33 of the 35 points the Knicks scored over the final 8:18.
The Knicks only made 19 of 52 (.365) from the field and 4 of 19 (.211) from 3-point range in the first half. In the second half, they made 28 of 40 (.700) from the field and 14 of 23 (.609) from beyond the arc.
The Kings now enter a brutal stretch in their schedule with upcoming games against the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns. They haven’t been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention yet, but the end could be near with an NBA-record 16-year playoff drought looming larger on the horizon.
Barnes said that won’t change the way he plays the game.
“I play for my teammates,” he said. “I play for my coach and I play for the fans. Looking at this environment tonight, it was phenomenal. These fans have been coming here all season, and there’s no sugarcoating that it’s been a tough season, but they’re still continuing to show up every single night, so you owe it to them to prepare the right way, to play the right way.
“Obviously, you want a different result, and you’ve wanted different results all season, but that’s not going to change the way I approach every single game, whether it’s Game 1, Game 82, second round of the playoffs or a preseason game.”
Gentry said he wants to see his team continue to compete regardless of its position in the standings.
“One thing that we talked about after the game is that, forget about, ‘Hey, we’re only this many games out or we’re doing this or doing that,’” Gentry said. “All we have to talk about now is competing at the highest level we can for 48 minutes. And whoever that is, if it’s five guards or five big guys or whatever, that’s the way we’re going to play the rest of the season. We’re going to play with guys who are going to compete like crazy and try to do the right things, but the last thing we’re going to do is quit. If we have to play (assistant coach) Lindsey (Harding), we’ll play Lindsey if she’s going to compete.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 1:32 AM.
