Julius Randle received a technical foul during Thursday night’s (March 23) match against the Orlando Magic and snapped at Immanuel Quickley out of frustration, the New York Post reports.
As the New York Knickerbockers fell behind early in the exhibition and tempers began to arise, Randle grew dissatisfied with his team’s performance.
The 28-year-old lashed out at Quickley and NBA officials towards the end of the first quarter as his teammates attempted to calm the star player down. New York closed their locker room for 40 minutes after regulation and didn’t require the Texas native to speak with the media.
However, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau interacted with journalists after the game and spoke about his team’s issues.
“It’s just right now our team, just we’re out of sorts. And so you have to pull together, when you go through rough times,” coach Thibodeau said. “You get into things together, you get out of things together.
“So it’s just we have to do it, do everything a lot better. And we have to be committed to doing it as a team. There’s going to be ups and downs that we have to navigate. Everyone does. And we can’t lose sight of what we’re trying to get accomplished.”
Knicks shooting guard RJ Barrett also detailed his teammates’ outbursts as a product of frustration. Barrett, 22, insisted that the race for the playoffs had heightened tensions on the floor.
“Yeah man, frustration. We’re fighting. We want to make the playoffs,” RJ said. “When you lose, especially right now … every loss matters so much. We’re trying, and sometimes, that happens.”
Furthermore, Quickley was asked about his spat with Randle and described it as being in “the heat of the moment” and “a part of sports.”
“Honestly, everybody’s trying to win. Heat of the moment. That’s basically what it is,” he said. “We all want to win. We’re all trying to get dubs. That’s all I can really say. Sometimes that happens. It’s part of sports, part of what it takes to be a professional athlete. It’s not just basketball. It’s other things with that. But everybody is trying to win.”
The Knicks lost to the Magic 106-111 and now sit in 5th place in the Eastern Conference. New York is currently above .500 with a 42-33 record on the year, trailing behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics, and the Milwaukee Bucks.