RJ Barrett flashes star potential in Knicks' rout of Spurs

NEW YORK – On the night their All-Star leader struggled offensively, RJ Barrett picked up the slack and delivered anew. 

Five nights after Barrett hit his first game-winning buzzer-beater, the 21-year old swingman returned home and put on a show that had the Madison Square Garden rocking and the Knicks fans chanting his name. 

Julius Randle struggled for only two points in his first game back home since thumbing down the fans, which earned him a $25,000 fine from the NBA. But Barrett exploded for 31 points as the New York Knicks cruised to a 111-96 victory over the San Antonio Spurs Monday night (Tuesday, Manila time). 

Barrett, who would have been a college senior by now, showed maturity and controlled the game like a seasoned veteran. He closed out the second quarter strong with eight straight points to give the Knicks a 51-49 lead after trailing by as many as eight. 

Barrett continued his scintillating performance in the second half, fueling the Knicks’ breakaway with 17 points. His five straight points and assist to rookie Quentin gave New York its first double-double digit lead of the game, 78-67, with 3:58 left in the third quarter. 

Barrett outdueled San Antonio’s 25-year old main gunner Dejounte Murray, who had 25 points in a losing effort. 

“I think I was just playing basketball,” Barrett said afterward. “That was the game was presenting, and I’m glad I was able to capitalize.”

Barrett shot 12 of 20, scoring from all angles, highlighted by a breakaway windmill dunk in the second quarter that kept him going. 

ROWAN ALEXANDER BARRETT JR. pic.twitter.com/gOcOlnmFDP

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 11, 2022

It was his fourth 30-plus point game of the season and third in the last two months, including a 32-point outing in San Antonio in December. 

Barrett became the only fourth player at age 21 or younger with multiple 30-point games in a season against the Spurs, joining Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant, and Knicks legend Bernard King, according to ESPN Stats and Info. 

Barrett’s star turn came on the heels of Ja Morant’s back-to-back NBA Player of the Week run. Barrett was the third pick of the 2019 NBA Draft behind his Duke teammate Zion Williamson and Morant, the two rookies viewed as clear-cut stars from their class. 

Only injuries have kept Williamson from dominating the league while Morant has blossomed into an All-Star point guard this season. But Barrett refused to be left behind. 

Over his last seven games, Barrett is averaging 22.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists as the Knicks went 4-7 in that stretch to climb to 20-21, matching their last season’s record after 41 games. 

Barrett’s dominant performance against the Spurs enabled them to catch the Boston Celtics at 10th place in the Eastern Conference halfway through the season.  

“I love when RJ plays like that. It takes a lot of pressure off me,” Mitchell Robinson said. “Hey RJ, keep doing your thing, man.”

Robinson, the 23-year old Knicks’ starting center, caught a couple of lobs from Barrett and was fouled. Robinson finished with a strong double-double game with 13 points, 11 rebounds, one steal, and a game-high four shot blocks. 

Barrett not only scored but also made plays for the Knicks. He found the open man when the Spurs defense collapsed on him. 

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— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 11, 2022

Barrett had his fingerprint all over this Knicks’ big win. He added four assists, three rebounds, and a monster block on Spurs big man Drew Eubanks. 

RJ is also doing it on defense! ????????pic.twitter.com/I3TP01ufYc

— Fireside Knicks (@FiresideKnicks) January 11, 2022

“The big thing is just reading the game. If you’re open, shoot. And if you’re not, make a play. So, don’t make it complicated. Attack the rim. That’s one of his strengths. When he does that, it puts a lot of pressure and forces the defense to collapse. Then we can get great shots off of that either him finishing or spraying the ball out,” Thibodeau said of Barrett. 

Four more Knicks players scored in double figures as the ball kept moving. They had 23 assists on 40 field goals, including 13 of 32 3-pointers. 

Randle was the only starter who had a woeful shooting night as he went 1 of 7 from the field. It was his worst scoring performance in a Knicks uniform and his career since a scoreless game, curiously, against the Spurs in 2018 when he was still with the Los Angeles Lakers. His second straight poor offensive outing followed a 6 of 19 shooting performance in the Knicks 99-75 loss in Boston over the weekend.

Randle got booed again at home before he exited the game while Barrett received MVP chants. But Barrett came to the embattled Randle’s defense. 

“First of all, the fact that we were able to win this game and win big like we did even without him scoring says a lot about our team. But also, it’s not like he was out there doing nothing. He was grabbing every rebound. He was getting us going on a break like he was playing on defense. He was doing a lot for us out there,” Barrett said of Randle. 

Randle did not force things when his shots were not falling and deferred to his teammates, especially Barrett, who had hot hands. 

Randle collected a game-high 12 rebounds, three assists, and one block against three turnovers. He was plus-16, the second-highest plus-minus rating behind Immanuel Quickley (plus-17). 

Quickley supplied 12 points and six assist off the bench as the Knicks continue to stay afloat without their top two point guards, Kemba Walker (knee soreness) and Derrick Rose (ankle surgery). 

Before the game, Thibodeau said Walker and backup center Nerlens Noel (reconditioning) are close to returning. But the Knicks didn’t feel their absence, even Randle’s struggles when Barrett was rolling as he did. 

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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based sports website empiresportsmedia.com.