On the back of Julius Randle's stellar outing coupled with Jalen Brunson's solid performance, the New York Knicks on January 27 (Friday) defeated Boston Celtics in an overtime thriller 120-117 at TD Garden. The Knicks played an outstanding game against the team with the best record in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Randle filled the stat sheet as he finished with 37 points, nine rebounds and two assists while Brunson added seven assists and four rebounds to his name.
After the game, Randle reiterated that the Knicks proved they "can beat anybody" by taking down Boston but wants his "special" team to show the same focus every night.
Randle, back in his All-Star form of the 2020-21 season, was the main man for New York in scoring 37 points, including five in OT.
Boston led by as many as five points in the extra session, only for Randle to respond with a 27-foot three-pointer. The Knicks forward soon put his team ahead for good with a pair of free throws.
Only the Celtics themselves (17-9) have a better road record this year than the Knicks (15-10), who have also celebrated impressive wins at the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets.
Randle and Co. are still only seventh in the East, however, and must show greater consistency.
"We can beat anybody; we can lose to anybody," said Randle. "That's the league.
"We can see how special we can be on a night-to-night basis if we come in with the right focus."
Randle's three biggest performances have come on the road, where he is averaging 26.6 points per game versus 23.0 at home.
(With opta inputs)
