Yahoo Finance Knicks star Julius Randle has to be held back by teammates after ref blows game-deciding call
A game-deciding blown call led to a furious New York Knicks star being escorted off the court Monday night, and you will be shocked to hear Scott Foster was involved.
In the final seconds of the New York Knicks' game against their crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets, Julius Randle received the ball down three points with 5.7 seconds left. Randle jumped to take a 3-pointer contested by Kyrie Irving, but held onto the ball and landed.
At first glance, it was a textbook up-and-down travel. A replay, however, showed Irving had actually hit the ball as Randle went up to shoot:
Julius Randle was called for a travel down 3 and under 5 seconds remaining.
Nets hold on to beat the Knicks. pic.twitter.com/VssyVvtzOr— ESPN (@espn) March 16, 2021
Randle instantly disputed Foster's traveling call, but the official didn't even let the call go to an instant replay.
The Nets soon put the game away with a pair of James Harden free throws, at which point Randle appeared to want to settle the score. Immediately after the game ended, Randle approached midcourt and appeared to be searching for someone, until his teammates pushed him back toward their locker room.
Randle took out his frustrations on a chair as he entered the tunnel:
When I go to war, I’m going with Julius Randle. pic.twitter.com/69ppgQ4cOT
— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) March 16, 2021
The call and dispute were an ugly end to a superb night for Randle, who finished with 33 points on 13-of-27 shooting, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals.
After the game, Randle declined to say anything fine-worthy about the situation:
There was a conversation, but I think it's just best that I don't comment on the situation. There's a lot of frustration behind it, for both sides. I'll just let it be in the past and just move onto the next game.
Meanwhile, Foster told a reporter that he deemed Irving to have touched the ball, but not to have dislodged it, making it a travel in his eyes.
Randle entered Monday averaging 22.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, all career highs in a breakout season for the former seventh overall pick.
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