Knicks' Julius Randle scores career-high 57 points in loss
Julius Randle scored a career-high 57 points, but that wasn't enough to save the New York Knicks from a disappointing 140-134 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
"It's a shame to waste a performance like that," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game.
Randle's dominance was apparent throughout the first three quarters of a defenseless showcase in which the Knicks trailed by as many as 17.
Randle poured in a team-record 26 points in the third quarter, bringing the Knicks back into the game, but the All-Star forward wasn't able to will his team across the finish line, scoring just five points in the fourth.
"He played so well," Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said. "He brought us back, he played unbelievable.
We just got to be better as a team to help him make that career night feel like something special. But when you lose that, kind of just chops all the feeling out of everything."
Randle was 19-for-29 from the field and 8-for-14 from 3-point range in passing his previous career best of 46 points. He played 37 minutes and made 11 of 13 attempts from the free throw line.
Randle's 52 points after three quarters were on pace to eclipse Carmelo Anthony's franchise-record 62, scored in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Jan. 24, 2014.
Anthony's 62 also represents the most points scored in a game at Madison Square Garden (since 1968). Next on that list are James Harden (2019) and Kobe Bryant (2009), both with 61.