NEW YORK – Julius Randle had 34 points and 10 rebounds against his former team and the New York Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-96 on Monday night for their third straight victory.
Coming off tense finishes against Memphis and Toronto, the Knicks led comfortably for much of the fourth quarter and moved back above .500 at 28-27.
Elfrid Payton scored 20 points and Derrick Rose added 14 off the bench for the Knicks, who had plenty of energy on the second night of back-to-back games.
Dennis Schroder scored 21 points and Markieff Morris had 17 for the Lakers, who fell to 5-7 since LeBron James sprained his ankle March 20, joining fellow All-Star Anthony Davis on the sideline.