The Knicks are down 18 to the Bulls at the end of the second quarter. Everyone’s frustrated.
As players and coaches head to the locker room, Julius Randle and Evan Fournier get in a heated discussion over a rebounding issue and a defensive assignment:
To the outside observer, it looked like a sign of discord between two players on a struggling team.
“It looks like we’re arguing,” Randle said. “….We went to the locker room (to) talk it out. We say regardless, at the end of the day we’ve got each other’s back and we’re in this together. That’s important.
“…. You can have differences. You can communicate and talk and say what you see on the court. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to know that we’re riding with each other regardless.
“I think that was very clear communication between us, between all of us.”
Whatever was said at halftime, it was interesting to see Randle and Fournier play key roles in New York’s comeback against Chicago.
They both had six points in the first seven minutes of the quarter, helping the Knicks cut Chicago’s lead to single digits.
“I think the key was communicating,” Fournier said afterward. “I would rather have that than not saying anything and hold grudges and stuff. So, stuff like that happens all the time and I’m glad it happened, because we played much better in that third quarter.”
New York’s comeback fell short in the fourth quarter. The 21-point gap was ultimately too much to overcome.
The club sits at 11-11 and 5-7 at home.
They’ve been consistently inconsistent thus far.
But if you’re looking for something positive from another frustrating loss, maybe the argument between Randle and Fournier – and the strong play that followed – is something to keep in mind.