Once the Knicks finished off their comeback win over the Spurs on Thursday night, Julius Randle couldn't help but look at the out-of-town scoreboard.
The All-Star had led New York to a crucial victory after trailing by 17 points in the second half, but now that he and the Knicks had taken care of their end, it was time to see what was going on outside the realm of their own control.
That's right, Randle was scoreboard watching, and he's not afraid to admit it as the Knicks look to climb back toward the fourth seed and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with two games to go.
"You want the honest answer?" Randle laughed when asked if he's been scoreboard watching. "I'm not gonna lie, I was watching. I was watching today for sure. People who say they aren't watching are liars. I was watching."
Randle, who finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on Thursday, watched the Hawks pick up an easy win over the lowly Magic, while the Heat picked up a big win of their own against the top-seeded Sixers. So both teams ahead of New York will stay there for at least another day, but there are still two games left to move up in the standings before playoff time, and the Knicks aren't shy in their desire to play the franchise's first playoff game in eight years at the Garden.
"Yeah, of course," RJ Barrett said of gunning for the fourth seed. "We definitely want that fourth seed and that home court. All we can continue to do is take care of business."
The Knicks didn't need to take care of any business on Wednesday. That was done by the Cavaliers, who took down the depleted Celtics to help New York clinch its first playoff berth since 2013. The Knicks took time to celebrate virtually, but as it's been for the bulk of this surprising season, it was right back to work after that.
"Once we clinched, we all got on the phone and FaceTimed and talked," Randle said. "So we enjoyed that moment, but I'm moving on. We can enjoy and bask in that at the end of the season. But right now I'm focused on Charlotte and what we have next. I'm in the moment. I can appreciate all of that when it's over."
Randle is focused on Charlotte, but he'll have an eye on the Hawks as well, who host the Raptors in their regular season finale. The Knicks still have a chance for home court after a deflating loss to the Lakers earlier this week, and they'll be watching how Atlanta and Miami fare down the stretch, but the primary focus will be on what they can control, which begins with the Hornets on Saturday afternoon.
"It's exciting, but we're really just focused on Charlotte," Barrett said. "We have to take care of business. We have to take care of our end and let the chips fall where they may."
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