Knicks need Julius Randle back to form after outbursts

NBA

From Dan Martin

March 26, 2023 | 9:46 p.m

The Knicks will be looking to make two three-game streaks when they host the Rockets at the Garden Monday night: Not only have they lost three straight games, each game has featured a technical foul on Julius Randle.

Randle is coming off two underperforming games after a 57-point performance against the Timberwolves last Monday.

With just seven games left in the regular season, the Knicks need their star player to get back on form as they try to hold onto the Eastern Conference No. 5.

Randle did not contact reporters after Sunday’s practice, and Monday’s game will be the first since the forward’s last outburst, which came just before halftime in Thursday’s dire loss in Orlando.

He got into a heated argument with the umpires after Randle believed it was a foul that was not called.

Immanuel Quickley tried to get Randle away from Referee Leon Wood but Randle was hit by another technical hit.

On Sunday, RJ Barrett defended Randle, noting that Randle’s fierce competitiveness is part of what makes him a special player.

“First of all, I think we’re all going to get angry,” Barrett said. “He competes. He competes. People might have seen a video or whatever [of Randle’s behavior], but we all feel that way. We try to compete to win, so we totally understand his fighting spirit. That’s also one of the things that makes him really good.”

But Randle continued his 57-point game against Minnesota with 15- and 23-point losses in Miami and Orlando, hitting just 39 percent of his shots.

When asked where Randle’s “head” was after his recent tough spell, head coach Tom Thibodeau said: “He’s great. He’s fine. He had good practice [Sunday]. We’ll see where he is [Monday].”

Barrett added the team is ready to go backwards from their latest three-game drought, as well as Randle’s struggles to avoid technical fouls.

“We as a team understand that sometimes things will happen,” Barrett said. “Whether it’s Julius, me, Jalen [Brunson], anyone. We just have to stay locked in and try to focus on what we need to do.”

On Monday, that means beating a Rockets team that has lost four straight games and is bottom in the Western Conference.

The Knicks have been streaky lately, in the midst of a second losing streak of three games in nine games — with a three-game winning streak in the middle.

Key to getting back on track ahead of the postseason – along with the return of Brunson, who is ruled questionable for Monday’s game with a sprained right wrist – is for Randle to get back into shape.

“His mentality this season has been great,” said Quickley. “He’s a big part of what we do, we need him to be at the top of his game.”

Barrett said he doesn’t expect a carryover from the last few games.

“You address it and move on from it and move forward,” Barrett said. “It helps to be a team focused on winning. Then a lot of other nonsense and extra stuff doesn’t really get through and you can stay focused.”

That leaves Barrett confident the team will finish strong.

“We’ve always responded throughout the season when things aren’t going our way,” Barrett said. “It’s been such a year and I think we’re going to react [again]. I think we will fight back. I definitely believe in this team. We’ve done some good things so far. We just need to be ourselves again and play Knicks brand basketball like we know we can and we’re fine.