Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks celebrates with RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks as the Knicks take on the Dallas Mavericks in the fourth quarter at American Airlines Center on April 16, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. Tom Pennington/Getty Images/AFP
Julius Randle matched his season high of 44 points and also contributed 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead the New York Knicks to a 117-109 victory over the host Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
Randle fell one point shy of matching his career high while helping New York win its fifth straight game. It is the franchise’s longest winning streak since an eight-game stretch in March 2014.
RJ Barrett added 24 points and eight rebounds and Derrick Rose scored 15 points for the Knicks. New York’s Nerlens Noel collected 10 rebounds and blocked three shots.
Kristaps Porzingis registered 23 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas. Luka Doncic scored 22 points, matched his career best of 19 assists and grabbed eight rebounds for the Mavericks.
Julius Randle GOES OFF for 44 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST… @nyknicks win 5th consecutive game! #NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/KFlrw0b7k1
— NBA (@NBA) April 17, 2021
Tim Hardaway Jr. tallied 16 points, Josh Richardson added 14 and Dorian Finney-Smith had 13 for Dallas, which connected on 44 percent of its shots and was 15 of 45 from behind the arc.
New York shot 51.2 percent from the field, including 14 of 28 from 3-point range. Randle made 6 of 11 from long distance.
Barrett scored 10 of New York’s first 13 fourth-quarter points to help the Knicks take a 96-85 advantage with 8:42 remaining.
Dallas pulled within 105-99 on Finney-Smith’s dunk with 2:32 left, but Noel made two free throws and Randle hit a jumper to make it a 10-point margin with 1:44 remaining.
The Mavericks moved within 115-109 on Doncic’s 3-pointer with 21.4 seconds left, but Reggie Bullock answered with a layup as New York closed it out.
Randle scored 21 points in the first half, and New York took a 56-52 advantage into the break.
Barrett opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Knicks a 37-25 lead. Dallas recovered to knot the score at 52 on two free throws by Hardaway with 47.3 seconds left before New York scored the final four points of the half.
The Mavericks held a 67-63 lead after Finney-Smith’s dunk with 6:36 left in the third quarter before New York scored 10 of the next 13 points to take a three-point lead. Dallas inched back ahead by one before the Knicks scored the final five points for the period, including a 3-pointer by Randle, to take an 83-79 edge into the final stanza.