N.Y. Knicks: Julius Randle Rocks a Triple-Double at Cleveland

From the desk: DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

DEUCES WILD

Knicks      95

Cavaliers  85

FINAL

KNICKERBOCKERS EVEN RECORD (2-2) WITH SECOND STRAIGHT WIN

Don't look now, but Coach Thibodeau has the Knickerbockers at .500 with a 2-2 record.  After a disjointed start to the season against the Pacers and Sixers, the Knicks stormed back with a highly spirited 130-110 victory over the Eastern Conference power Milwaukee Bucks.  On Tuesday night, the Knicks kept their guard up against a step down in competition with a tight 95-85 defensively intensive win over Cleveland.

Julius Randle continues his stellar start, leading the floor with a game-high 28 points while leading all players with 44 minutes.  He was 9/16 (56%) from the field, a perfect 4/4 from the arc, and 6/10 from the line.  Randle secured a team-high dozen rebounds and distributed a game-high eleven assists.  This comes on the heels of his game-high 29 point and 14 rebound effort against the Greek Freak and the Milwaukee Bucks.  Through four games he is averaging 24.7 points in 37.7 minutes. 

Reggie Bullock led the Knicks with five buckets from the arc and finished with seventeen points overall.  R.J. Barrett was a quiet 4/15 from the field and 4/4 from the line for 12 points.  Mitch Robinson fell one point short of a double-double with ten rebounds.

All five Knicks starters exceeded at least 32 minutes each.  Coach Thobideau went with an eight-man rotation, handing Kevin Knox II, Frank Ntilikina, and Nerlens Noel sixteen minutes each off the bench.  The three were collectively 5/11 from the field, 3/5 from the arc, and 2/3 from the line for fifteen points with eleven rebounds.

Collin Sexton led the Cavs with twenty points, and Andre Drummond went double-double with seventeen and a game-high seventeen rebounds.

• NEXT: on to Tampa, Florida, to play the relocated Toronto Raptors on New Year's Eve.