Julius Randle lifted the New York Knicks to their eighth consecutive win Friday night in just about the most dramatic fashion you will ever see.
After nearly losing the ball, Randle hit an off-balance 3-pointer with 1.1 on the clock to send the Knicks to a 122-120 victory over the Heat in Miami. The game-winner gave him 43 points on the night.
The basket also provided Randle a bit of redemption. On the Knicks’ prior possession, he was stripped by Heat guard Tyler Herro, who then drove down the court and hit a layup that put Miami in front with 23 seconds to go. That set the stage for Randle’s heroics.
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“If you did that play 100 times … 99 times out of that, it’s going to end up in our favor,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Randle’s winner.
The Knicks’ eight-game winning streak is currently the second-longest in the NBA, behind Milwaukee’s 16 straight wins, and has moved New York to 38-27 on the season, fifth in the Eastern Conference behind the first-place Bucks.
Randle is the first Knicks player since Carmelo Anthony in 2014 to record back-to-back 40-point road games, per ESPN Stats & Info. He scored 46 on Feb. 24 against the Wizards.
Contributing: Associated Press
