The biggest game of the year, the biggest quarter of the year and Julius Randle was parked at the very end of the bench.
Randle, the only Knicks All-Star, was a disaster in the third quarter of Sunday afternoon’s 102-93 Knicks victory over the Cavaliers. His defense was lethargic and Cleveland took advantage, targeting the power forward in pick-and-rolls with great success.
The struggles spilled into poor body language, with Randle disengaging himself from a timeout huddle in the third quarter while floating to the scorer’s table. Coach Tom Thibodeau, who typically has a long rope for Randle’s antics, benched the power forward and watched the Knicks cook the Cavaliers in the fourth quarter behind Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett.
Randle did not speak after the game, leaving before the media was allowed inside the locker room.
He finished with just seven points in 27 minutes, missing 7 of his 10 shots. Thibodeau hinted that Randle, who suffered a sprained ankle over three weeks ago, is either still dealing with pain or hasn’t recovered his conditioning.
“Look and Julius is our horse. He’s given us everything that he has. A lot of guys probably wouldn’t even be playing,” Thibodeau said. “So I knew that the quick turnaround would probably impact him more than most players. He was out an extended amount of time. ….The thing I love about him is he gives you everything he has. He’s done that to come back the way he did, be ready for Game 1. Credit to him. We need it, he’s our horse. You know that.”
The Knicks never listed Randle as injured Sunday. Just last week, he was smiling through answers about this playoff series representing the most enjoyable time of his career. But everything about his effort Sunday — from the missed shots to the body language to ducking the media — exuded misery.
With or without an injury excuse, Randle has never had a good playoff game. He’s never shot over 40% in any of his nine appearances. In this series, the 28-year-old is averaging just 14.8 points while shooting just 32 percent. In the last two games, he’s missed 19 of his 25 attempts.
Still, the Knicks have overcome Randle’s duds because of Jalen Brunson’s brilliance and are a victory away from winning the franchise’s first playoffs series in a decade.
“It says a lot (that we won despite Randle struggling),” Isaiah Hartenstein said. “There’s been a lot of games where we count on Julius a lot. So but I think in general if anyone has maybe a little less shooting night, someone can step up. That’s what makes this special I think. No matter who’s playing, we have someone that can step up.”
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