Tom Thibodeau couldn’t help himself. When he heard the questioner describe Julius Randle’s 14-point night as not a great game for him, the Knicks manager broke off and continued to make a long rant.
“Let me correct you,” Thibodeau said after the Knicks’ 106-100 win over the Clippers on Sunday at Staples Center. “Randle had a great night.”
Relatively speaking, Thibodeau would have been wrong as Randle finished with 14 points of 7 of 17 shots (0 of 4 of 3) with four turnovers. But Randle also added 14 rebounds, five assists, and hit three important shots along the stretch. The fact that he didn’t come close to qualifying as one of his best games shows just how fantastic Randle’s season has been.
“They’re doubling him, he’s spraying the ball,” Thibodeau continued. “Everyone tends to measure people on points and shots and not on all-round play. The important thing is the perseverance, the way he bounced the ball, the games of hustle and bustle he made. He played a great game without hitting the ball well. Then at the end of the game he made several great plays for us. “