The apology went out Friday and the fine from the NBA seemed set to put a tidy bow on the troubles for the Knicks and Julius Randle. His anger directed at the fan base had boiled over Thursday night when he gave a thumbs down sign at them and then clarified his message afterward, telling them to "shut the [expletive] up."
Randle had said his piece to express his frustration with the reaction to his and the Knicks' play a season after he’d been serenaded with chants of "M-V-P" every time he touched the ball. The Knicks had fought back from the early booing Thursday to capture a buzzer-beating victory over the Celtics at Madison Square Garden and everyone seemed happy again.