Julius Randle certainly acted like a scorned player.
The star forward left the court in the face of his former Knicks teammates after Thursday night's 133-107 victory over the Timberwolves in Minneapolis.
Randle claimed beforehand that he was treating it like just “another match,” and after a scorching start, his performance certainly felt normal.
Randle scored 15 points in the first quarter, giving Minnesota a 33-32 lead, and the Knicks dominated the rest of the game.
Randle scored nine points the rest of the game, but finished with a minus-13 plus/minus after the Knicks brought in defensive stalwart OG Anunoby.
A particular highlight, in which he didn't go back on defense after missing a 3-point shot, leading to an easy layup by Mikal Bridges, was also talked about on social media.
Donte DiVincenzo, another key player in the trade that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to New York, hugged his former teammate after the game.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Randle did not explain his lackluster performance or his lack of interest in reuniting with Knicks players.
But Anthony Edwards has said enough, as the 14-12 Timberwolves look like a shell of the team that made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season.
A big offseason trade with the Knicks seems to keep them from taking the next step.
“We are invulnerable. We are not without identity,” Edwards told reporters. “We know we’re going to take a lot of shots, and Ju knows it too.” [Randle] It's going to take a lot of shots, that's all we know. I don't know anything else. That’s not the case with coaches at all. It's our responsibility. we are playing outside. ”
Randle spent five seasons in New York, and was in the midst of the team's rebirth from perpetual laughing stock to legitimate contender.
But he hobbled off with an ankle injury during the Knicks' 2023 playoffs and missed the entire 2024 postseason with a dislocated shoulder.
Over the past two years, Jalen Brunson has become the face of the team, and several of his former Villanova friends have joined the Knicks roster.
