Knicks beat Hornets in first test without Julius Randle, who likely will be out for weeks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than 48 hours since Julius Randle went crashing to the floor at Madison Square Garden, suffering a dislocated right shoulder, an air of optimism and uncertainty remained over his status.

While there is hope that after undergoing X-rays, an MRI, more testing and receiving multiple opinions Randle will be able to avoid surgery and be sidelined for a timetable measured in weeks, not months, there was no definitive answer as they took the floor at the Spectrum Center Monday.

In the first test of life without Randle, the Knicks managed to easily pull away from the equally-shorthanded Hornets for a 113-92 win, extending their streak to seven straight wins. But the bigger picture remains the bigger mystery.

“He’s continuing to go through testing,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And so, until that’s finalized we’re not going to really have more information for you. It’s just gathering the information and then once it’s complete, then there will be a course of action.

“I’m always optimistic, as you guys know, and you have to do both. You hope for the best, but you plan for the worst. So we’re encouraged that he takes great care of himself. So that’s a huge plus, being in great shape. And so hopefully it’s positive in the end. And I don’t want to speculate, but I’m hopeful.”

Randle was still getting final assessments after two days of testing and evaluations, but the early belief was that he would be able to avoid surgery and rehabilitate the shoulder. With two weeks until the All-Star break, the Knicks have nine games — including Monday night — and hope that he could return after the break.

“I just knew he was in a lot of pain after the game,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “Talked to him Sunday], talked to him the night it happened. He was in pain. The next day he felt a little bit better. That’s all I knew. From that, I just know how we go about business is next-man mentality. A bunch of different varieties of what we can go with so we’ll see what Thibs goes with and we’ll roll from there.

“First and foremost, you don’t want anybody to miss any time. So I wish he could be back out there, I wish he could have shot those free throws. Injuries are a part of the game. So when you hear weeks not months, obviously, it’s a good sign. Being here this first year, what I know about Julius is he’s going to do everything possible to cut whatever the timeline is, he’s going to try to cut that down, try to get back.”

But they didn’t get where they are this season by giving away any games, so the focus was already on how to move forward without Randle. And with the last-minute scratch of OG Anunoby with right elbow inflammation, the Knicks were left to piece together an unlikely starting lineup with Josh Hart and Precious Achiuwa at forward joining Jalen Brunson, DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Replacing Randle’s 25 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5 assists per game isn’t going to come from one player, but maybe with Brunson they didn’t need much. He took over the game in the second half, finishing with 32 points and seven assists. DIVincenzo added 28 points and Hart had eight points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as the Knicks stretched a three-point halftime lead to as many as 29 in the fourth quarter. When the deficit was cut to 18, a hint of what this might take to get through Randle’s absence was evident as Brunson had to return to the game to stabilize the team.

“You can’t replace those guys individually so you have to count on your defense and rebounding and creating advantages for each other,” Thibodeau said. “We got the usual from Jalen but I thought Josh was fantastic and Donte was terrific and I thought Precious first time playing at the power forward – Jericho (Sims) gave us really good minutes as well. And I thought Deuce (McBride’s) defense was big too. … Quentin (Grimes) played great, too.”

Hart said, “I think it’s going to be a collective [effort], unless between now and game time I can put on 45 pounds of mostly muscle. I think it’ll just be a common collective effort. It’s not going to be about just one person. It’s going to be everyone is stepping up.”

But in the meantime, the Knicks echoed their coach’s mantra of next man up — or an assortment of fill-in options. Quentin Grimes could see his playing time increase and Achiuwa has played better in recent games.

“That’s an All-Star,” DiVincenzo said of Randle. “It’s hard to make up for an All-Star. First and foremost you can’t do it — doesn’t matter who you plug in. You’re not going to do it with one person. Jalen has to play better. I have to play better. Josh, OG, Isaiah, all the way down. Deuce [McBride], QG Grimes]. I think Precious is playing really well for us.

“I just think everybody needs to step up. It’s really hard to fill that hole. But in the meantime I think we have guys that are very, very hungry.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.