Julius Randle, RJ Barrett propel Knicks over Magic on MLK Day

It was about as crisp as wet toilet paper and as stylish as bowling shoes, but the Knicks will take the victory.

Clutch layups by Julius Randle and RJ Barrett in the final minute, along with a series of mishaps from Aaron Gordon, secured the Knicks’ victory over the Magic at the Garden on MLK Day, 91-84.

Randle personified the slopfest for most of the game by shooting just 5-for-19, but the Knicks top star came alive down the stretch with seven points in the final 93 seconds. His big bucket broke a tie with 57 seconds left, when Randle got the ball in isolation, spun on the defender in the paint, and converted to lay-up to break an 81-81 tie.

Randle’s spin move was a source of great frustration for Knicks fans last season because it frequently resulted in turnovers. But like much of Randle’s game and the Knicks in general, it’s been better under coach Tom Thibodeau.

“Yeah way different (feel from last season),” point guard Elfrid Payton said. “Just our approach to the season… It’s definitely been different. Guys came back ready to play this year. Guys really worked on their games this summer. The entire coaching staff has us prepared to play games. But it’s still early. We still feel like we have a lot of room for improvement. We’re not satisfied with this. So we’re just going to keep learning, keep building and keep pushing.”

The Knicks (7-8) have won two straight following a five-game losing streak. It’s noteworthy because they didn’t have seven wins last season until the 28th game. Thibodeau’s squad is rising above expectations with defense and a slower pace, winning the last two games while holding the opponent to an average of under 80 points.

Monday’s game was further mucked up by sloppy play and missed open looks. The Knicks shot just 35%, which was slightly better than Orlando’s 34%. The Magic (6-8), depleted by injuries, dropped its sixth straight.

“We didn’t hit shots and that’s not what won us the game,” Randle said. “Our defense is what won us the game today. I’m proud of everybody.”

Despite playing the previous afternoon in Boston and the noon tipoff Sunday, Thibodeau had the players arrive early for a walkthrough at the Garden. Clyde Frazier, the MSG Network analyst, commented that he saw the players working intensely at 10 a.m.

The wakeup call was worth it because the Knicks jumped out to an eight-point advantage in the first quarter. The Magic didn’t recover until its 19-5 run in the fourth quarter, which gave the visitors its first lead since the opening minutes.

Orlando’s surge set up the nervy finish. Ross hit a circus-like trey to take give Orlando a one-point advantage. Randle and Barrett then took over, with the latter converting a transition lay-up to give the Knicks a 85-81 lead with 46 seconds left.

Gordon missed four shots and committed a turnover in the final 50 seconds for the Magic, which was led by Nikola Vucevic’s 24 points.

Barrett finished with 22 points and 10 boards. Randle had 21 points and 17 rebounds.

Overall, it was ugly but the W still counts.

“I love winning so low-scoring, high-scoring, medium-scoring, it doesn’t matter,” Thibodeau said. “I just want to win. Whatever we have to do to find a way to win, improve every day and I want to be playing our best down the stretch.”