Julius Randle continued his excellence, Elfrid Payton posted his first 20-point game in a while, RJ Barrett continued his hot play, and the Knicks came away with a win in Chicago. Matthew Miranda recaps a game that felt rather routine (especially when watched on DVR).

Last night I recorded a pod during the Knicks’ 107-103 win in Chicago, so I DVR’d the game. After the plethora of problems I’ve had with our remote, I decided to watch the game on my laptop instead. I clicked on the recording, and talk about deja vu — it brought me right to the postgame show, with the final score plastered across the bottom of the screen. And though I hate knowing the final score before I see a game I’m recapping... it does hit different when you know the Knicks won. It narcotizes.

I watched the game in a suspense-less but pleasant state, Xanax for the soul. With the easy ease of an opium den regular, the Knicks opened up a 19-point first quarter lead, after which the two teams appeared to reach a gentleman’s agreement: the Knicks wouldn’t push their advantage to 20 and the Bulls wouldn’t cut it to single-digits. The détente held most of the night, continuing one of the more positive trends of the Tom Thibodeau era: New York is now 3-2 and allowing only 100 points per game when seeing teams for the second or third time. After years of Third Quarters of Doom, a Knicks team that shows a capacity for adjustment is a warm gun indeed.

New York jumped out to a big lead from the get-go thanks to Elfrid Payton, Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle staying hot, and Lauri Markkanen reverting to the mean. Elf and Mitch were all over the offensive glass, with Payton going off for 10 in the first and Mitch adding eight and seven rebounds in about half the quarter. While the Bulls could only muster six points in the first six minutes while missing all seven of their 3-point attempts, Randle continued to excel in all areas, especially downtown. After he hit three in a row from deep, he spread the word to Alec Burks, whose shining example put the Knicks up 34-15.

The good vibes kept vibing in the second quarter. RJ Barrett, again with the strong drives, again the switch flipped on to attack mode. Burks was in playmaker mode, finding Obi Toppin for a catch-and-shoot three. Soon after, Toppin attacked a closeout by dribbling into a pull-up jumper. The Knicks were nearly doubling up the Bulls in points in the paint. After consecutive explosions, especially against New York Monday, Markkanen was foul-plagued and neutralized. 

The Finn’s shot going AWOL rendered Chicago’s entire long-range game fin. By contrast, the Knick defense was hustling and muscling. A Zach LaVine-led run briefly cut the gap to nine, but an Immanuel Quickley three re-established hegemony, and Randle, who nearly had a 30-footer drop at the end of the first quarter, found satisfaction at the close of the third with his fifth 3-ball, tying his career high.

Austin Rivers hit a left elbow three early in the fourth to put the Knicks up 18, after which I wrote “Feels safe” in my game notes. Chicago cut that all the way down to three, and maybe this was the figurative Xanax of knowing the final score doing its thing, but I was never worried. The Bulls never had the ball with a chance to take the lead. Randle found Reggie Bullock for a corner three, his sixth assist, doubling the lead. Payton hit a turnaround, then deflected a pass meant for Coby White that resulted in a Bulls turnover. Randle connected on a fadeaway with two minutes left. There were some passing hijinks in the last 20 seconds that would have made Benny Hill blush, but basketball is not figure skating. There are no points for artistic impression. Just win, baby. Just win.

Notes

• Payton hit the 20-point mark for the first time in nearly a month. I have nothing to say about the larger conversations going on about Elfrid and starting and his game. I’m just happy on a human level that a person who has been struggling and knows everyone knows it had a good game.

• That we’re at the point where 27, six, and six from Randle feels like no big deal is as good a sign as any that this man is an All-Star. It’s not just what he produces, but when. He looks no different with a minute left in the fourth quarter of a tie game than he does two minutes into the first. 

• Seventeen and seven for Rowan Jr. Man has made his peace attacking the basket and defending and I am here for it. 

• When Mitchell Robinson hits free agency, his 10th agent better have found a way to quantify his impact as the roll man on offense. He adds 3-4 points a game to every point guard he plays with just from his threat as a rim running lob-meister. It’s incredible. If they hold on to him, the Mitch/Quickley pick-and-roll seems pretty devastating for defenses to contend with.

• The mystery and majesty of the human body is never more evident than in watching the genius of Nerlens Noel as a shot-blocker versus him going full Edward Scissorhands whenever someone throws him a pass.

• When players go down hurt I want it to be like World Cup soccer, where the opposing team tosses the ball out of bounds so he can be examined immediately. Then when play resumes, his team tosses it out of bounds to return the favor. It never feels good to me to see someone suffering and the other team’s reaction is “Screw it, we got a 5-on-4!” There are better ways to live.

• MSG showed Scott Perry sitting at the United Center and I realized I’ve so forgotten about him my subconscious just assumed he’d been fired. You never hear about him and you never hear from him. Perry is the most anonymous Knick general manager since someone I can’t remember due to their anonymity. 

• Every time Clyde calls Markkanen “Markinson,” I am obligated to post a clip of him from A Few Good Men, the only Aaron Sorkin project I have ever been able to enjoy.

• Tom Thibodeau vs. Billy Donovan might be the two fastest guns in the league when it comes to calling early timeouts. Sometime in the early 1990s I saw the Jets play in Buffalo. The wind chill was minus-40 that day; it was so cold that my father and I left the stadium unable to feel our toes and did not until we pulled into our driveway at home, 90 minutes later. Near the end of the first half, Jets coach Bruce Coslet called timeout. The team wasn’t close enough for a field goal attempt, so we were excited, figuring Coslet was drawing up some exciting Hail Mary or something. The Jets snapped the ball, took a knee and headed for the locker room. I never liked Coslet before that day, and I’ve never forgiven him since. The Jets missed three field goals that day. They lost 16-14.

• Speaking of the pod I recorded, check it out! Please! I’m co-hosting the Jacobin Sports Show with Jonah Birch. Last night we spoke with Avantika Goswami, who covers Liverpool for SB Nation, about a number of Premier League clubs and storylines. We’ve also had Dr. Robert Greene II on to talk about the lives and legacies of the late Henry Aaron, and a few weeks ago Dave Zirin of The Nation joined us to talk NBA and Regina King’s wonderful new film on Amazon, One Night In Miami. We’re on Apple, Spotify, and wherever fine podcasts are sold.

Quoth me: “Xanax for the soul.” Next game is Saturday when New York hosts Portland. Damian Lillard. Carmelo Anthony. Enes Kanter. I don’t know how that one will hit, but it sounds like quite a trip.