Julius Randle was in no mood to hold on and speak after the Knicks’ second crushing defeat to Philadelphia in less than a week.
The All-Star forward forced overtime with a three-pointer at the end of the regulation, but was called for a ‘blown call’ and a ridiculous ‘loose ball violation’ – leading to release by Tobias Harris to let go in the last seconds.
Randle also missed an 18-foot jumper when the time was up for a horrific 101-100 loss to the Sixers at the Garden, and he stormed off the podium after answering one question in his Zoom call .
‘Blown by the officials. Not enough contact for them to call the play, ”Randle said. ‘I do not know who it was – Nerlens [Noel] – but he clearly had possession [of the ball].
‘After all the pollution and everything that was going on, they had to call it and decide the game is ridiculous. They need to do better work. There are too many games like this. ”
The match was played with two referees because Dannica Mosher was unavailable due to the league’s health and safety protocols, and both teams consistently complained about the service work, while both Randle and Thibodeau got technical errors earlier in the match.
Randle was also furious with officials after being asked for a last-minute trip to Brooklyn last Monday. The NBA ruled the next day that the call was correct.
The All Star forward scored 24 points and Alec Burks finished with 20, including seven in overtime, but the Knicks fell to 21-22 before two home games Tuesday and Thursday against Washington.
Mitchell Robinson played for the first time since breaking his right hand on February 12 against the Wizards and finished with four points and six rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. He appears to be limping late in the fourth quarter with a possible ankle injury in the banking area.
Immanuel Quickley is also back after an absence of one game due to a single issue, and he is earning 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
The messy game, which featured 36 combined turnover between the two teams, was tied by three quarters.
The Sixers led by 14 points with 3:31 left in the second, but the Knicks finished the half on a 13-0 run, with two three-pointers from Quickley and a steal and imposition by Barrett to within the halftime to close with 43-42.
Buckets of Noel (13 points) and RJ Barrett (19) put the Knicks ahead in the opening minutes of the third quarter, and they led by as many as six late in the season before the Sixers drew a 64-64 draw. . term.
Danny Green’s driver gave Philly an 88-85 lead with another 19.1 seconds, but his fellow Long Island product, Harris, cracked two free throws a few seconds later. Randle connects for a match 3 from the right corner with 6.4 ticks on the clock to force overtime.
Reggie Bullock’s three-pointer put the Knicks up 1:10 to play with 1:10, but Harris (20 points) responded with another long-range make. Shake Milton missed a possible prospect, but Randle whistled for a loose ball as Noel grabbed the rebound, and Harris sank the two free throws by 5.3 seconds for a Philadelphia one-point lead.
After the game, referee Courtney Kirkland told a pool reporter that Randle had committed a foul on a loose ball and that Thibodeau had not indicated he would challenge the game in the allotted time.
“They said we were not challenged – two officials, difficult calls. That’s all I’m going to say about it. It’s pretty obvious, “said Thibodeau. ‘I did not look [the replay] train. Usually there will be, as they would say, at the end of the game marginal contact, casual contact, every other kind of contact.
“All I know is that we were hit a lot and that there was no marginal contact about this.”