ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s time for more of Chasson Randle in March.
It took nearly a week, but Randle finally showed why Brandon Jennings got released.
With Carmelo Anthony resting his sore left knee in the locker room, struggling Derrick Rose benched in the fourth quarter and Kristaps Porzingis hounded by foul trouble, the Knicks’ new rookie point guard became the team’s mover and shaker in his first non-garbage time action.
The Knicks put forth a terrific fourth quarter led mostly by Randle’s floor leadership and the bench crew to ring up a 113-105 victory over the Magic at Amway Center on Monday.
“He just knows how to play,’’ Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. “He does the little things. I can’t say enough for a guy who hasn’t played yet and then all of a sudden gets in there.”
Randle notched seven points, five assists and five rebounds in 25 minutes. But here’s the most mind-boggling stat: Randle finished the game a plus-27 while Rose was a minus-23 in the Knicks’ first victory without Anthony since the 2014-15 season.
It’s been a weird ride for Randle, who starred on the Knicks summer league team in July, was invited to training camp but was cut after fracturing an orbital bone. Randle played for the D-League Westchester Knicks before the Sixers picked him up in January, then released him at the trade deadline.
The Knicks signed Randle last week when they opened up a roster spot with Jennings’ release — a look toward the future.
In spearheading a 19-4 fourth-quarter run as the Knicks won here for the second time in five days, he’s earned a larger look as he competes for backup duties with fellow undrafted rookie Ron Baker. The Knicks signed Randle to a partial guarantee for next season.
“Ron has done a nice job, but Chasson is more of a typical point guard,’’ Hornacek said. “Yeah, he’s earned it.’’
“It felt good especially when you can go out there and play halfway decent and win a game,’’ Randle said. “I tried to come out there and play with energy. The result was a win. I’m glad we got it and in this jersey.’’
Sitting behind Baker, Randle had played just the final 1:30 of the Knicks’ blowout win here last week.
“He brings energy,’’ Porzingis said. “He’s able to drive to the basket and find shooters and he’s really quick. He’s able to stay in front of guys, too. We moved the basketball. It seemed like a team win.’’
“We saw him in training camp and liked him then,’’ Hornacek said. “We were all surprised that nobody picked him up prior to Philadelphia getting him. We were stuck with 15 guaranteed roster spots. It was tough to keep him. But we always thought when he becomes available, we’re going to try to get him back somehow.”
The Knicks, who rallied from a seven-point deficit after three quarters, moved to 26-38. As the lottery police will lament, the Knicks had a chance to fall to the league’s sixth-worst record. But the loud coterie of orange-and-blue-clad Knicks fans on hand weren’t thinking ping-pong balls. The Knicks remained 5½ games out of the eighth seed in their all-but-hopeless chase for a playoff spot.
Rose had a rough outing, shooting 2-of-9 with two turnovers. He was coming off a scare Sunday after inadvertently getting elbowed in the eye by Porzingis. He saw a specialist following the game when the eye swelled.
In what he claimed was related to the orbital fracture he suffered last season, Rose said he experienced blurry vision Sunday, but played through it.
Rose said the specialist recommended protective goggles, but he refuses to wear them. Though he scored 28 points Sunday, he couldn’t get going Monday and his minutes could go down as a youth movement begins. He said he’ll try not to “go insane.’’
“The noise, the crowd, the lights were getting to me a little bit,’’ Rose said of Sunday’s game. “But I got through it.’’