The Knicks have won a lot more this season than anyone could have ever imagined and done so gracefully.
And in the past six days, the Knicks have lost three games of the last possession to the top two teams in the Eastern Conference – once against the Nets and twice against the Sixers.
And the Knicks didn’t do that so gracefully.
Knicks All-Star Julius Randle could start writing his donation check to the NBA after his 25-second, profane post-game Zoom call. A smoking Randle blamed the two-person squad for costing them the loss – a 101-100 overtime heartbreaker in the Garden.
It was less than a week ago when a raging Randle tried to go after referee Scott Foster at Barclays Center, but was stopped by his teammates.
A last-second game in which Randle was called up for a trip up and down threw him into a tizzy. He was not fined by the competition, but this time it is a slam dunk.
Sunday night ended when Tobias Harris of Sixers sank two free throws with 5.3 seconds left to give Philly a 1-point lead on a foul by Randle with a loose ball.
It ended with Randle – and Tom Thibodeau – yelling at the gritty crew on duty for reporting the violation. Randle has been a rock and an iron man, but he may need to tone down some things. He already has seven technical cases. Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, the crew on duty dropped one umpire, forced to work with two instead of three. The Knicks apparently tried to challenge Randle’s call but never got the message within the allotted time, the referees said.
On the part in question, Randle was hit in Harris’s back with a forearm as the Long Islander was ready for the rebound. With Harris expelled, Nerlen’s Noel from Knicks snatched the carom.
It was waved off by the whistle and Harris was awarded his free throws. And the Long Islander, who beat the Knicks by 30 points five days ago, made both in the pairing.
Randle answered a post-game question before dashing away, claiming that this rough defensive battle shouldn’t have been decided by such a meager act.
“Wrong call from the officials,” Randle said. Not enough contact for them to mention the play. I don’t know who it was – Nerlens [Noel] – but he clearly had possession. After all the pollution and everything that was going on, it’s ridiculous that they call that and decide the game fg is ridiculous. They should do better. There are too many of these games. ”
Randle then left the Zoom call before he could be asked about the next game.
After Harris’s free throws, the Knicks star sped off the track, got a decent look before his potential game winner fell behind the buzzer. Randle ended the night shots 7 of 21 – one of his worst shooting lines of his masterful season.
Thibodeau also raged on the sidelines and even entered the field at one point.
“They said we didn’t challenge it,” said Thibodeau.
He also put forward the idea that Randle’s mistake wasn’t going to be a late-night overtime fight.
“Usually at the end of the game there will be – as they would say – marginal contact, incidental contact, any other kind of contact,” Thibodeau said. was, so … ”
So. If the Knicks’ argument is that you don’t call a fault in that situation, it doesn’t get undone on video review. It’s a bloodless process.
From the mouths of babes came the comments of 20-year-old RJ Barrett, who wouldn’t go there.
“I just want to win,” said Barrett. “Referees or no referees, we have to win the game. ”
This was a great defensive dogfight as the Knicks fought on again without point guards Derrick Rose and Elfrid Payton.
Thibodeau used swingman Alec Burks along the stretch to run to the point. A Burks-led attack forced the Sixers into extra time and nearly squeaked this out with the swingman scoring 20 points.
The Knicks could get angry, but it didn’t seem right on this day.
They’re not Eastern foe Charlotte, who has reportedly lost his superstar rookie LaMelo Ball this season with a broken hand. And they’re not the Lakers, who will be playing without LeBron James indefinitely after his high ankle sprain.
And they’re not the Rockets, whose rookie coach Stephen Silas buried his face and barely managed to make a sound on Sunday when asked if the 20-game losing streak went to his club.
At 21-22, the Knicks may have wanted to look on the bright side. They are starting to get well and Burks will soon be able to return to his permanent position.
Rose could be back against Washington on Tuesday, and a violation that garnered 85 points during regulations will be revived.
Center Mitchell Robinson made his return after a 15-game absence and was extremely rusty – blowing three mostly automatic put-backs. Rookie Immanuel Quickley, after a one game absence with an ankle sprain, started again and wasn’t ready (4 of 12). The Knicks are best when Quickley comes off the bench sixth and is on par with Rose. It will happen soon.
Barrett admitted that the locker room was angry.
“Everyone wants to win,” said Barrett. “If we lose, especially a game like this, a game that we should have won, that’s a hard way to lose.”
It’s also a hard way to overreact – Randle in particular.