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Tim good morningESPN
New York Knicks striker Julius Randle had to be prevented by his teammates from facing Scott Foster after the veteran referee appealed to him in the final seconds of New York’s 117-112 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
“It was a conversation, but I think it’s best not to comment on the situation,” Randle said afterwards. “There was a lot of frustration behind it and – that is, on both sides – so I’ll just let it be in the past and move on to the next game.
“It was just frustrating. Obviously, we fought so hard to come back and try to win the game. So we were frustrated. And that was kind of a lot. But we have another chance to go tomorrow. So let’s just focus on that. “
Randle had a chance to equalize in the final seconds, when he rose to take a 3-pointer five seconds from the end. But Nets star Kyrie Irving managed to hit the ball up, causing Randle to juggle it and fail to score.
“I had a piece designed, obviously, and I thought Ky would come right away and foul right away, so I tried to go a little faster,” Randle said. “But the play happened -” whatever happened is what is and is in the past. “
As a result, when he tried to drip the ball down on foot, he was called by Foster on a 3.2-second trip.
After James Harden took the lead and knocked down a few free throws to seal victory for Brooklyn, which has now won 13 of its last 14 games, Randle was still furious with Foster. He had to be restrained by rookie Obi Toppin, among others, when he tried to go to Foster after the match.
Randle, who finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals in 41 minutes, was eventually coaxed off the floor, in part by Knicks executive William Wesley, though he overturned a chair. as he exited the lower bowl as he headed back to the visitor locker room.
“Either I would have fouled earlier, but I saw him line up for a jump shot,” said Irving, who led all scorers with 34 points. “I felt I could give him a good hand. Scott called the trip. I thought Julius did a good piece after he put it down. I’m going to foul him after that just to get him to the line. free throw.
“That’s how it looked. That’s how it went.”
On the other hand, Knicks’s coach, Tom Thibodeau, was not as great.
“I thought it was a tough call,” Thibodeau said. “I thought I had a lot of tough calls on the stretch.”
Foster explained why the travel call was made after the game.
“The defender was thought to be touching the ball, but did not disassemble or loosen it,” he told the pool reporter. “Once the player settles in, he cannot intentionally let go of the ball or dribble the ball or be the first to touch after dropping the ball.”
The fury surrounding the call against Randle overshadowed a wild comeback for the Knicks, who followed 115-108, with 28.6 seconds left just to force two jumps, tying Harden and Joe Harris in back possession. behind.
In the end, however, Irving’s play ensured that Brooklyn was victorious in the Battle of the Boroughs.
“I think the players feel it naturally,” said Irving, who was a Nets fan growing up in northern New Jersey about the Knicks-Nets rivalry.
“But obviously being from here is a bit of a different feeling, because I have to go home and actually be around the Knicks and Nets fans. It’s my family. So it’s basketball, it’s competition. It’s a world sport. So it’s just nothing, but respect. But obviously you want to go out here and just have fun against the New York Knicks. They’ve played well this season. It’s a well-trained team and they just appreciate the opportunity. “