NEW YORK — The temperature read on Julius Randle — two days after a defeat ended in anger because he was fouled on his butt by Jarrett Allen — was cooler than a polar bear’s toenails.
The Knicks power forward, not frequently an engaging interview, smiled through his session with reporters Thursday, clearly eager for Friday’s tipoff of the pivotal Game 3.
“I’m probably having the most fun that I’ve had in my nine-year career in the league,” Randle told reporters at the Knicks’ practice facility in Tarrytown. “The game-to-game adjustments, the gamesmanship. Intensity. All that type of stuff. It’s fun for me because it’s a test on my mental, and I feel great. I don’t know, I just enjoy it.
“I’m just having fun. It’s a lot of fun. I can’t lie.”
The game represents the first postseason contest at Madison Square Garden since Trae Young eliminated the Knicks in 2021, when the Hawks point guard closed the show with his infamous Broadway bow at halfcourt. Randle struggled in that series but now has the experience to deal with the emotional rollercoaster of a series.
He sealed a Game 1 victory in Cleveland with a clutch offensive rebound, but the Knicks were overwhelmed three nights later to even the series. Randle committed six turnovers in Game 2 and requested to play extra minutes in garbage time to find a rhythm, which created a controversial moment.
With 2:22 remaining and Cleveland’s lead up to 20, Randle drove on a breakaway for a dunk and was met by Allen at the rim for a hard contest. Randle fell on his back and the referees ruled a flagrant foul on Allen. At the time, he called Allen’s actions “a little unnecessary. … typically when you make those kind of plays, you run across their body, not through them.”
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff disagreed.
“It was a contest of a dunk,” Bickerstaff said. “And they kept playing hard. They kept running through passing lanes. Why would one team play hard and another one not? There was nothing dirty about the play. It wasn’t a flagrant foul. He contested a shot at the rim. It’s that simple.”
A chiller and happier Randle stopped caring about it following Thursday’s practice.
“It’ doesn’t even matter at this point. My ass hurts. My elbow hurts. And I got to get ready to play for tomorrow,” Randle told reporters. “So it doesn’t even matter at this point. I got to get ready to go.”
Randle, a father to two young boys, said he’s used to physical punishment.
“I’m built for these kind of battles,” he added. “That’s why I put so much time in the weight room. I put a lot into my body for recovery and stuff like that. My kids beat me up worse.”
