NEW YORK — Julius Randle pulled a disappearing act while RJ Barrett stole the show at MSG.
In his first home game since telling fans to STFU, Randle was booed out of the game following a colossal dud. He managed just two points with three turnovers, and the fans turned negative toward the All-Star in the fourth quarter with Monday’s 111-96 victory over the Spurs in hand. Randle’s game ended after he fouled a Spurs player out of frustration and made a beeline to the bench.
The crowd then chanted for his replacement, “Obi Toppin.”
Earlier in the contest, especially in the third quarter, the fans focused on positivity directed at Barrett.
The 21-year-old scored 10 of his 31 points in that period, when the Knicks (20-21) took a double-digit lead they would never relinquish. They won their fourth consecutive at MSG.
Randle, meanwhile, received a mixed reaction during lineup introductions, just four days after he flashed a thumbs-down sign at the Garden to tell fans “Shut the f— up.” He hit his opening shot against the Spurs — which prompted loud cheers — but then missed his final six and only took one attempt in the second half.
There’s clearly a confidence issue. The ugly performance followed Randle’s 6-for-19 shooting effort two nights earlier in Boston. Randle, urged by his agency and the Knicks, released a statement expressing “regret” for his STFU gesture. But he was still fined $25,000 by the NBA and there seems to be lingering animosity.
“First of all, it’s devastating when it first happens,” Clyde Frazier said of getting booed on the MSG broadcast. “Luckily for me it happened in the twilight of my career. So they weren’t necessarily booing me, but things were falling apart and they took it out on the team when I wasn’t playing well. So Randle, I thought did the right thing. He apologized to the fans. And it’s a revelation when you play in the World’s Most Famous Arena. If you don’t perform, you’re going to hear about it. Last season he got all kudos and was rewarded handsomely as well. He just has to go on the court and play his game.”
Luckily for the Knicks, they didn’t need Randle on Monday. The Spurs (14-25) are young and rebuilding. They were also shorthanded because of COVID-19 while wrapping up a seven-game road trip on the second night of a back-to-back, following Sunday’s overtime defeat inside Barclays Center.
In other words, it was a schedule victory. And the Knicks did their job.
The issue with Randle didn’t go away, however. It only got worse.
