Before eliminating the Cleveland Cavaliers from the NBA playoffs, and midway through Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first-round series, All-Star forward Julius Randle was putting on a masterclass.
This being the Knicks, something bad had to happen. That’s how we ended up looking at Randle going down late in the second quarter after stepping on the foot of Caris LeVert.
As Joe put it, “Randle was bullying the Cavs’ bigs at the rim on his way to 13 points” when he had to leave the court.
As I wrote, Thibs had revealed Randle’s shaky status following Game 4, acknowledging the All-Star forward was “still playing through pain” and hoping he could “play better” entering Game 5 with a couple of days of rest before tip-off on Wednesday.