If Julius Randle wanted to put his thumbs-down display and ensuing wish for Knicks fans to “shut the f— up,” performances like Monday’s won’t help.
The Knicks strolled to a 111-96 victory over the San Antonio Spurs behind another brilliant outing from RJ Barrett — who continues showing flashes of being the guy at Madison Square Garden. But Randle, in the Knicks’ first game back at MSG since his terse statements on Thursday against the Boston Celtics, had his worst offensive showing since he joined the team in 2019 with just two points on 1-of-7 shooting in nearly 38 minutes of action.
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After picking up his third foul of the night with four minutes remaining, Randle certainly didn’t take his time making his way to the bench as Knicks fans rained boos down upon him yet again.
Not exactly the kind of environment one would expect with the Knicks leading by 24 points, even with Randle’s statement of regret and ensuing $25,000 fine handed down by the NBA for using profane language during media interviews.
“It’s a long season. We love our fans. Our fans are fantastic,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said in an attempt to mend some fences. “There’s no better place to play in the NBA. I think everyone would tell you that. There’s an appreciation for them. But along with it, there’s going to be praise and there’s going to be criticism.
“Don’t get wrapped up in either. The important thing is to lock into the team, your job, the next day, winning, your opponent, get ready to go so you can play well. And look, we play well, we know how much our fans love this team, and we love them.”
Regardless of his poor offensive night, Randle was still a plus-16 on the floor with a team-high 12 rebounds.
“It’s not like he was out there doing nothing,” Barrett said in defense of his teammate. “He was grabbing every rebound. He was getting us going on the break. He was doing a lot for us out there. He was finding us. He really got me going at the beginning of the game, too. He’s doing a lot.”
“What’s the impact on winning? Winning is the most important thing,” Thibodeau said. “I don’t get caught up in how many points somebody has or how many rebounds. I want to know how the team is doing when you’re on the floor.”
Whether the success is an anomaly or something that could be sustained remains to be seen, but it isn’t something that the Knicks or Randle will be trying to continue to find out. Nor will the fans, who have another opportunity to let the forward know how they feel on Wednesday night when the Dallas Mavericks come to town.
