New York Knicks forward Julius Randle drives to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson (5) and center Rudy Gobert during the second half of an NBA game Monday in New York.
AP photo
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New York Knicks forward Julius Randle reacts after committing a foul against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half of an NBA game Monday in New York.
AP photo
NEW YORK — Julius Randle scored 57 points in one of the greatest nights in Knicks history. The Minnesota Timberwolves had the most sizzling start in the NBA this season.
Even in an era where the scoreboard totals seem to balloon higher all the time, this spectacular display of shooting and scoring felt different.
“It was a movie,” Minnesota’s Taurean Prince said.
The Timberwolves overcame Randle’s performance by riding a sizzling start and a steady finish to beat New York 140-134 on Monday night.
Prince scored a season-high 35 points and went 8 for 8 from 3-point range for the Timberwolves, while Mike Conley added 24 points and 11 assists. His three free throws gave Minnesota the lead for good with 2:17 remaining.
Randle’s final basket, a three-point play with 42 seconds remaining, cut it to 137-134, but he was beaten to a rebound by Kyle Anderson on Minnesota’s next possession, and a cutting Prince scored inside with 10.1 seconds left before Conley made a free throw after Randle was called for a technical foul.
That left Randle kicking himself for not making the defensive play on the night the offenses ruled.
“Jalen (Brunson) got a defensive stop, we’re down three, it’s my job to come up with that rebound, 14 seconds left,” Randle said. “If we do that, we have a chance to win the game — or not win the game, but at least tie the game. So I didn’t get the job done.”
The Timberwolves made more than 70% of their shots in the first half and led by 17, before Randle carried the Knicks back with a franchise-record 26 points in the third quarter.
He finished tied with Richie Guerin behind the only two 60-point games in Knicks history, Carmelo Anthony’s 62 on Jan. 24, 2014, and Bernard King’s 60 on Christmas Day in 1984. But the Knicks had their three-game winning streak snapped.
The All-Star forward threw down a powerful driving dunk in the first quarter but did most of his damage from much farther away. Randle made eight 3-pointers in surpassing his previous career high of 46 points.
The Wolves made their first 10 shots and didn’t cool off much the rest of the game, finishing at 61.4% and snapping a three-game skid despite playing without Anthony Edwards for a second straight game because of a sprained right ankle.
“We’ve got shooters, baby,” center Rudy Gobert said.
Gobert’s basket made the Wolves the first team this season to make its first 10 shots, and Knicks fans loudly cheered when Jaden McDaniels missed Minnesota’s next attempt, nearly seven minutes into the game. The Wolves led 42-32 after one, shooting 16 for 22 (72.7%).
Prince’s 3-pointer made it 70-53 with 4:35 left in the first half, but the Knicks finally put together some stops to cut it to 79-70 at the break.
Then Randle came back and went 9 for 10 in the third, hitting 5 for 6 beyond the arc. He raised his hand to fault himself after the one miss, an ill-advised attempt that missed the rim by a couple feet. But he could hardly be blamed for trying the way almost everything else he threw up was going in.
WARRIORS 121, ROCKETS 108
HOUSTON — Stephen Curry scored 30 points and Klay Thompson added 29 as the Golden State Warriors snapped an 11-game road skid with a win over the Houston Rockets.
The game was close most of the way before the Warriors used a 12-2 spurt early in the fourth quarter to pull away and hold on for their first win away from home since Jan. 30 at Oklahoma City.
The Warriors, who entered the game seventh in the Western Conference, have been great at home this season (29-7) but have struggled on the road, where Monday’s win improved them to just 8-29.
The Western Conference-worst Rockets got 21 points and 12 rebounds from Tari Eason.
TIMBERWOLVES 140, KNICKS 134
NEW YORK — Julius Randle scored 57 points to tie the third-highest total in Knicks history, but Minnesota rode a sizzling start and a steady finish to beat New York.
Taurean Prince scored a season-high 35 points and went 8 for 8 from 3-point range for the Timberwolves, while Mike Conley added 24 points and 11 assists. His three free throws gave Minnesota the lead for good with 2:17 remaining.
The Timberwolves made more than 70% of their shots in the first half and led by 17 before Randle carried the Knicks back with a franchise-record 26 points in the third quarter.
He finished tied with Richie Guerin behind the only two 60-point games in Knicks history, Carmelo Anthony’s 62 on Jan. 24, 2014, and Bernard King’s 60 on Christmas Day in 1984. But the Knicks had their three-game winning streak snapped.
BULLS 109, 76ERS 105, 2 OT
PHILADELPHIA — Zach LaVine scored 26 points, DeMar DeRozan had 25 and Chicago defeated Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in double overtime to snap their eight-game winning streak.
Nikola Vucevic added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, who have won three games in a row and five of six. Chicago is fighting for the final playoff spot in the East.
Embiid had 37 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks before fouling out with 3:54 left in the second overtime. It was the 10th straight game in which he has scored at least 30 points.
Philadelphia could’ve clinched a playoff spot with a victory, but the 76ers struggled once Embiid left the court after a foul on LaVine.
GRIZZLIES 112, MAVERICKS 108
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points, including a key layup with 17 seconds left as Memphis defeated Dallas in Ja Morant’s first game back with the team after an eight-game NBA suspension.
Santi Aldama added 22 for the Grizzlies and Desmond Bane finished with 17 as Memphis won for the sixth time in seven games.
Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 28 points, but missed all eight of his shots in the fourth quarter as Memphis outscored Dallas 29-12 in the period.
Morant did not dress for the game but was on the Memphis bench, coming out to a hearty ovation from fans just before tipoff. The NBA assessed the suspension after a video from a Denver-area strip club earlier this month showed Morant brandishing a gun.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks were again without leading-scorer Luka Doncic, who missed his fifth game with left thigh soreness.
JAZZ 128, KINGS 120
SALT LAKE CITY — Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 27 points, including six 3-pointers, to lead Utah over Sacramento.
Kelly Olynyk had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Jazz. Kris Dunn added 18 points and 10 assists. Udoka Azubuike chipped in with a career-high 13 points and a season-best eight rebounds.
Eight players scored in double figures for the Jazz, who shot 52% from the field.
De’Aaron Fox had 37 points and seven assists to lead the Kings. Keegan Murray added 22 points.
HORNETS 115, PACERS 109
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 28 points and Charlotte erased a 21-point first-half deficit to beat Indiana and stop a six-game home losing streak.
Terry Rozier added 23 points and Gordon Hayward had 22 for the Hornets, who outscored the Pacers 19-4 over the final six minutes to deal their postseason hopes a significant blow.
Nick Richards was strong in the second half for Charlotte, finishing with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
Myles Turner and Buddy Hield each had 20 points for the Pacers, who entered the night 1 1/2 games behind Chicago for 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Hornets trailed 105-96 with 6:23 left but a 13-0 run put them in control as the Pacers went scoreless for more than five minutes.