Julius Randle has got into it with teammate Immanuel Quickley heading into the half-time break of the New York Knicks’ Thursday night matchup with the Orlando Magic.
On the stroke of the main break, Randle became frustrated by a no-call on opponent Franz Wagner as he attempted to bring the ball up the floor in the dying seconds. After the buzzer, Randle jumped to his feet and demonstratively approached the referee, earning a tech for his troubles.
Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley tried to intervene, and with Randle continuing to berate the ref, Quickley grabbed hold of his much larger teammate. Randle’s ire subsequently turned to Quickley, and the two began a heated verbal exchange with their faces just millimetres apart.
Julius Randle was not happy. pic.twitter.com/Mk0B1cCYBI
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 24, 2023
The altercation came after a frustrating first half for Randle and the Knicks. They trailed throughout the course of the half, going into the main break 53-45, and Randle’s own troubles were symptomatic of those of the team.
In the half, he hit just three of his 11 shots for nine points, grabbed four boards and didn’t dish out a single assist. This comes in a game in which a far greater role was always going to be necessary for the forward, with Jalen Brunson ruled out in the lead-up with a hand injury.
Just a couple of games ago, Julius Randle had a career-night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, hitting eight threes and going 19-29 from the floor en route to 57 points. Against the Miami Heat the following game, however, Randle managed just 15 points, and those struggles appear to have followed him to Orlando, at least in the first half.
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