Brunson, Randle Continue Knicks' Offensive Fireworks in New Year

The New York Knicks' lineup looks a little different these days with OG Anunoby in the starting five in place of Toronto-bound RJ Barrett. But old offensive activities from Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle are paving the way to victories in the new calendar year.

Though voters for the upcoming NBA All-Star Game might not see it quite yet, Brunson and Randle continue to serve as the offensive headliners for the Knicks as they attempt to build on their most successful season in a decade. Their efforts are more important than ever as they attempt to get over the roster shock of losing Barrett and Immanuel Quickley in the trade that acquired Anunoby.

Both had a chance to showcase their impact in the Knicks' 116-100 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night: Randle led all scorers with 35 points for his third 30-point game over his last four appearances (shooting over 55 percent in that span) while Brunson got back on track with a 31-point, 13-assist double-double. It marked the first time both Brunson and Randle scored at least 30 in the same game this season.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau feels like there's no difference in the way the duo has handled their prior and adjusted workloads, but he's grateful for its prescience nonetheless.

“I think (Brunson) prepares himself well for whatever he has to do, as does Julius,” Thibodeau said, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “That’s one of the great traits of both guys. They take great care of themselves and they work. If they have to play more, they play more. I have a lot of confidence in the guys we have. I think we just need a little bit of time.”

With two double-figure scorers up north, Brunson says that he and Randle have made a muted promise to assist in all areas of the offense as they try to work their way up the Eastern Conference leaderboard. New York (19-15) enters Friday night action in a three-way tie for the conference's sixth and final automatic playoff spot but fall to eighth due to tiebreakers.

“We focus on a load of things. The offense and stuff come naturally. It flows as easy," Brunson said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. "We’re not focused and thinking about it. We’re just thinking about how we can help our teammates and how we can be successful and impact the game without actually having to do that, so (we're) just doing the little things.”

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The Knicks' high-scoring duo will be back in action on Friday night when they open a weekend back-to-back against the Philadelphia 76ers (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).