Everything is going very fast in the NBA, and while the Knicks were riding a good winning streak, they are now in the trough with three straight losses. The absence of Jalen Brunson has a lot to do with it, but the Knicks have lacked imagination for three games. The attack is static, and when things go wrong, we get angry. This was the case last night Julius Randle very angry at the refereeing.
At the start, there is a poor rebound reflex with an elbow dragging across Mason Plumlee’s face. It’s more stupid than mean, especially since there was less than a second to play in the 3rd quarter. The Knicks had the ball, and this gesture was completely unnecessary.
The referees saw it, whistled foul. But Randle was mostly hit with a technique, and while the Knicks led by one point, the Clippers will take advantage of the three free throws to take the lead.
“I insist, I was not good tonight. I was even bad” recognizes All-Star power forward. “But the referees, pssh… I’ll stop there. All you have to do is watch the game and see what happened. »
With his 5 of 24 on shots, Randle has indeed been very bad, and for three games, he has been shooting at 29%. His nervousness is not linked to the arbitration of this night, but to this bad period he is going through.
“It was clearly a physical game, and that’s how it is” testifies Tom Thibodeau. “It was in the heat of the moment… Sometimes you can get frustrated. It’s a sport with a lot of emotions, and you have to keep playing. »
What did he think of this technical foul whistled against his leader? “I don’t know… I want to see the pictures again. I know the two were clashing, and a lot had happened before this action. Sometimes the outcome is just the result of everything that happened before. »
Unlike Fred VanVleet a few days ago, Randle doesn’t hold a grudge against any particular referee. “Actually, I like all three of them, but like I said, it was clearly obvious. »
