After dropping Game 1, the Cavaliers rebounded in a big way on Tuesday night against the Knicks, rolling to a 107–90 win to even the series. Given the blowout nature of the game, a late attempt at a chase-down block by Jarrett Allen on Julius Randle raised questions on both sides of the matchup.
With the Cavaliers up 23 with just over 2:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Knicks star forward went up for a dunk in transition. Cavs center Allen attempted to block the dunk, taking Randle down in frightening fashion under the hoop. Randle went down hard under and was slow to get up, holding his backside and sharing some words with Allen as he headed towards the bench.
THIS RANDLE DUNK 😳
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 19, 2023
Jarrett Allen was called for a flagrant 1 pic.twitter.com/8Osbh6ayXR
The play spurned a number of reactions and questions. It certainly didn’t appear necessary for Allen to go up for a potentially dangerous play in a late blowout.
Allen was assessed a flagrant foul on the play, which Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff took exception to.
“It was a contest of a dunk,” he said, via The Athletic‘s Kelsey Russo.”If you’re going to get a steal, and they kept playing hard, they kept running through passing lanes, why would one team play hard and the other one not? There was nothing dirty about the play.”
Randle, meanwhile, called the play “a little unnecessary.”
“I understand playoff basketball, you don’t give up on plays and I respect that, I’m somebody who plays hard and I respect that,” he said, via SNY. “But typically when you make those kind of plays you run across their body, not through them.”
Allen’s aggressive defensive play wasn’t the only controversial aspect, however. Some also called into question the need for Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau to have his stars like Randle in at that point of a game that was well out of reach.
Why was Randle in the game? 103-82 2:22 left
— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) April 19, 2023
Thibs leaving Randle and Brunson in til the bitter end of a game that's been over for at least an hour is just too classic.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) April 19, 2023
julius randle, who should not have been in the game, gets comforted by a fan pic.twitter.com/Q35YmrhGDs
— Dan Favale (@danfavale) April 19, 2023
Tom Thibodeau says that he was going to pull Julius Randle from the game earlier than he did, but he didn't because Randle wanted to stay in the game and find some rhythm: pic.twitter.com/KRftFfC06H
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 19, 2023
New York successfully took a game on the road from Cleveland, but now must take back the momentum in the series when it moves to Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
