Julius Randle did not have a very good shooting performance in the New York Knicks' 105-86 road loss to Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat, but he still earned massive praise from the Heat star.
“Julius is a tough cover for anybody… because he's constantly in attack mode and he does everything so well on the basketball floor, Jimmy Butler said about Randle during the postgame press conference following Miami's victory on Saturday (h/t
Knicks Videos). “He's the true definition of an all-around player.”
Coming off a 25-point performance in Game 2, Randle had the focus of Jimmy Butler and the Heat in Game 3. Miami's defense seemed to have a big effect on Randle, as he finished with just 10 points on a salty 4-for-15 shooting from the field with four turnovers, though, he still came away with 12 rebounds and two assists in 38 minutes.
As for Jimmy Butler, he returned from a one-game absence and paced the Heat in Game 3 with 28 points on 9-for-21 shooting to go along with four rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes.
Article Continues BelowThis series between the Knicks and the Heat was expected to be a dogfight, and it's the case so far despite the blowout nature of Game 3.
Randle and the Knicks will look to pull even in Game 4 on Monday before the series goes back to the Big Apple for Game 5 at Madison Square Garden.
So far in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Randle is averaging 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. He hasn't been shooting the ball well, making only 34.6 percent of his attempts from the field, so that's an area he will look to improve on.