Knicks’ Julius Randle explains his latest Knicks meltdown

NBA

From peter bott

March 27, 2023 | 1:43 p.m

Knicks forward Julius Randle attributed his recent breakdown with officials to his competitiveness and desire to win, but the two-time All-Star said Monday he knows he’s not perfect.

Ahead of Monday’s home game against the Rockets, Randle addressed the media for the first time since drawing a technical foul for a third straight game – and falling out with teammate Immanuel Quickley as he walked off at halftime – at the Loss in Orlando on Thursday.

“Name a perfect leader. Name a perfect human being,” Randle said at the team’s training facility in Tarrytown, adding there’s a fine line between competing and staying calm.

“Yes, it’s a line. It sure is a line.”

Randle said referee Leon Wood told him in the second half that he may have called the technical foul early during the dispute, although the NBA has not announced a change to the call in the four days since the incident.

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Julius Randle is escorted off the field at half-time by Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant after receiving a technical note from referee Leon Wood over an argument and subsequent discussion with Immanuel Quickley pic.twitter.com/9MkNwwKfwv

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) March 24, 2023

“Leon, I can’t trust him, but he told me he’d talk to them about picking it up, so we’ll see,” Randle said. “Because he said I hadn’t called him names or said anything inappropriate to him or anything. Just trying to have a conversation.

“Maybe it was a bit quick, maybe not. But at the end of the day, I can’t put it into his hands like that.”

The Knicks’ top scorer has spoken often this season about trying to limit his willingness to fight with officials after being beaten by 12 technicians in the 2021-22 season. But he came on Monday with 11 Ts in 75 appearances this year, including four in his last seven games.

“I think it’s difficult for everyone. credit to [the referees], they have a tough job, so it’s tough,” Randle said. “When you want to win a game and certain things get in the way or games are missed or whatever it is, as a competitor, it’s difficult. But they also have a tough job.

“At the end of the day I just want to win and compete and that’s what I’m focused on. When I’m frustrated, that’s where I come from.”

Asked if he apologized after the incident to Quickley trying to pull him out of the argument with Wood, Randle added: “I mean what happens on our team, happens on our team. So I’m not going to go into details about how we’re going to go about things. But at the end of the day we are a team, we are good and we are just focused on winning.”

The Knicks (42-33) start Monday in fifth-ranked Eastern Conference playoffs, two games ahead of the Nets in sixth-ranked and the No. 7 Heat, who will visit MSG on Wednesday.