Julius Randle has apparently taken a page out of Javier Baez’s book.
Midway through the fourth quarter of Thursday’s dramatic comeback win over the Celtics, the former All-Star heard boos slowly turn to cheers as he and the Knicks chipped away at was a 25-point deficit, and had cut it to six by the six minute mark of the final period. Randle cut it to four with a tough right-handed layup, and as the Madison Square Crowd erupted, Randle held up a thumbs down on his way down the court.
Asked after the game who the gesture was intended for, Randle indicated that it was a response aimed at the fans that had been booing for much of the first half, when the Knicks looked completely outmatched.
“Shut the f--k up,” Randle said of the message he was sending.
Randle was asked again if that response was intended for the boos he and the Knicks had been hearing before their furious rally, he responded, “You saw that. You saw what was going on with that.”
Randle, the reigning Most Improved Player and the face of the franchise’s resurgent season last year, hasn’t looked anything like that player so far this season, and the fans have responded in frustration. Randle seems to be taking exception to that, much like Baez and Francisco Lindor did with the Mets last season, when Baez said the team’s thumbs-down celebration was a way of “booing back” the fans. The two later apologized for the brief movement that did not go over well among the fanbase, and this certainly figures to not be embraced from Randle.
But Randle’s teammates didn’t think it would become a big deal that would spoil an otherwise unforgettable win at The Garden.
“He’s an emotional guy, because he puts so much into what he does,” Evan Fournier said after pouring in a career high 41 points. “He probably wasn’t happy about that. Honestly, no big deal in my opinion. The dude played hard as hell, he fought extremely hard, and he played well. When you give everything you have for something, and it doesn’t work out or you’re being called out, sometimes it’s frustrating. But it’s the business we’re in. Julius is the image of the franchise, he's the star player, of course he's going to get more criticism. That comes with it, but I think he understands that.”
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Randle said earlier this week that he "doesn't give a s--t" about the outside criticism surrounding what has been a step back for him in terms of production this season, but it must have gotten to him on Thursday night, enough to respond on the court.
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