Knicks forward Julius Randle chalked up his latest meltdown with the officials to his competitiveness and his desire to win, but the two-time All-Star said he knows he’s not perfect.
Before Monday’s home game against the Rockets, the two-time All-Star addressed the media for the first time since drawing a technical foul for a third consecutive game — and arguing with teammate Immanuel Quickley on his way off the court at halftime — in Thursday’s loss in Orlando.
“Name a perfect leader. Name a perfect human being,” Randle said at the team’s Tarrytown practice facility, adding there’s a fine line between being a competitor and keeping his cool. “Yeah, it’s a line. It’s a line, for sure.”
Randle said that referee Leon Wood told him during the second half that he may have whistled the technical foul prematurely during the argument, although the NBA didn’t announce any change to the call in the four days since the incident.
“Leon, I can’t put it in his hands, but he told me he would talk to them about rescinding it, so we’ll see,” Randle said. “Because he said I didn’t curse at him or say anything inappropriate to him or anything like that. Just trying to have a conversation.
“Maybe it was a little bit quick, maybe it wasn’t. But at the end of the day, I can’t put it in his hands like that.”
Randle has spoken often this season about trying to cut down on his combativeness with officials after getting slapped with 12 techs in 2021-22.
But he entered Monday with 11 T’s this year in 75 appearances, including four in his past seven games.
“I think it’s difficult for everybody. Credit to [the referees], they have a tough job, so it’s tough,” Randle said. “When you want to win a game, and certain things get in the way or plays are missed or whatever it is, as a competitor, it’s tough. But they also have a tough job, too.
“At the end of the day, I just want to win and compete and that’s where my focus is. If I’m frustrated that’s where I’m coming from.”
Asked if he apologized after the incident to Quickley, who was trying to pull him out of the argument with Wood, Randle added, “I mean, what happens within our team, happens within our team. So I’m not gonna speak on specifics, on how we handle things. But at the end of the day, we’re a team, we’re good, and we’re just focused on winning.”
The Knicks (42-33) entered Monday’s game in the fifth playoff position in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of both the sixth-place Nets and the No. 7 Heat, who will visit MSG on Wednesday.
“Yeah the challenge is [Monday night]. Houston Rockets,” Randle said. “They’re a young team. Everybody in the NBA has talent, regardless of record. It doesn’t matter who they are. We’ve shown, like I’ve said all year, that we can beat anybody, we can lose to anybody. So our focus has to be there. Our execution has to be there. We’ve got to be better on the defensive end.”
The Knicks allowed 127.7 points per game during their previous three losses, with their opponents combining to connect on 43 of 84 attempts from 3-point range (51.2 percent).
Randle said it was important for him and his teammates to “get away” from their on-court slump and spend time with his family with no games over the previous three days.
“I think we needed it all, honestly,” Randle said. “It’s been a tough month with traveling and back-to-backs and that type of stuff. But we persevered through it. And got a little bit of a break and refocused and centered ourselves.
“There’s a balance with everything. I’m obsessive about the game and love the game — very driven and focused — but there’s a balance, too.”
off position in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of the sixth-place Nets and the No. 7 Heat, who will visit MSG on Wednesday.
