At first, it appeared New York Knicks forward Julius Randle was going to pass Carmelo Anthony in the Madison Square Garden record books.
He scored 17 points of his 36 points in the first quarter in the Knicks' 105-103 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The performance was on the date of the nine-year anniversary of Anthony scoring an MSG-record 62 points against the Charlotte Hornets.
Randle cooled after the hot start but tied his career-high with eight 3-pointers. Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen scored 24 points to lead the Cavs.
NEXT KNICKS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Feb. 2 in New York
NEXT CAVALIERS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Jan. 31 in Cleveland
OTHER NOTES:
-The Indiana Pacers erased a 21-point deficit to defeat the Chicago Bulls 116-110.
Myles Turner and rookie Bennedict Mathurin had 26 points while T.J. McConnell had 20 points and 10 assists, his fourth double-double this season. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 33 points and Nikola Vucevic had 20.
“We talk about this at halftime and what we're getting ready to see happen and what we have to do," Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said. “Their intensity was here and ours was maybe the same as in the first half, but theirs was better.”
NEXT PACERS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Feb. 8 at Miami
NEXT BULLS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Mar. 18 in Chicago
-The Washington Wizards overcame Luka Doncic’s big game in a 127-126 victory against the Dallas Mavericks.
Kyle Kuzma led the Wizards with 30 points, helping neutralize Doncic's 41 points and 15 rebounds.
NEXT WIZARDS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Apr. 7 in Washington
NEXT MAVERICKS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Apr. 1 at Miami
-Cameron Johnson played just 18 minutes but scored 24 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 128-97 win against the Charlotte Hornets.
“To see that ball come off his hands as easy as it did tonight was pretty cool,” Suns head coach Monty Williams said. “When he's making shots like that, it opens it up for everyone else.”
Dario Saric led the bench with 19 points while Chris Paul had 14 points and 11 assists. Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 19 points and Mason Plumlee had 17.
NEXT HORNETS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Jan. 29 in Charlotte
Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog: https://substack.com/profile/114079068-cory-nelson?utm_source=account-card
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