New York’s duo came through.
Julius Randle secured a triple-double Saturday and RJ Barrett dropped a career-high 32 points as the Knicks breezed in Oklahoma City, 119-97.
Randle, who was coming off his worst game of the season two nights prior in Milwaukee, finished with 26 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds. He became the first Knick to record two triple-doubles in a season since Mark Jackson in 1988-89.
Barrett was an aggressive force while shooting 12 for 21.
The Knicks (20-19) rebounded nicely from their blowout defeat against the Bucks. They were shorthanded at point guard with the absences of Derrick Rose (health and safety protocols) and Elfrid Payton (sore groin).
Frank Ntilikina started but was ineffective and managed just seven minutes. It was also his second consecutive scoreless game. Immanuel Quickley picked up the slack, scoring 21 points in 33 minutes. He also started the second half, as Thibodeau clearly lost confidence in Ntilikina.
The Thunder (16-22) are a young and nondescript squad that were also missing their best player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who sat with a quad contusion. Their starting lineup featured Al Horford and four players with an average age of 20.5.
