MILWAUKEE — It was just a few months ago that Julius Randle, in the wake of a season in which he ascended to heights his career had only hinted at, decided to sign a four-year extension with the New York Knicks immediately, passing up the opportunity to cash in on a contract extension worth more than $80 million more.
The leader of a team that turned around in 2020-21 largely because of his play and the arrival of Tom Thibodeau as coach, Randle was all in. Since then, he has seen the Knicks struggle through a dismal season and get targeted for criticism. Much of it has been directed toward him.
But standing in the catacombs of Fiserv Forum on Friday morning, Randle insisted he would not change a thing and has no intention of bailing on his commitment to the Knicks.
"I wouldn’t change it," he said. "I still want to be a part of it. I still want to see this thing through. I still want to be a part of trying to bring a championship to the Knicks.
"So I’m not going to be happy and be all about it when things are good and just because it’s not necessarily going the way I want it to or the team wants it, to run and hide. I’m still behind this. I’m still sticking it through."
But the Knicks and Randle looked far from those goals Friday night as they fell to the Bucks, 123-108.
The Knicks never led, and despite numerous charges back into the game, they found themselves in double-digit holes much of the night. Randle’s pregame words sounded hollow when followed by a night in which he couldn’t come close to matching Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Randle was held to single-digit scoring for the seventh time this season, finishing with nine points and 11 rebounds. Antetokounmpo had 38 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
"That’s what makes him who he is," Thibodeau said. "He’s an MVP-type talent. There are times you can defend him really well and he still can score the ball. He did everything tonight — put pressure on the rim, he made shots, he made free throws, he created havoc. We battled to put ourselves in position going into the fourth and then we had to be at our best, and we weren’t."
Jrue Holiday had 24 points and 10 assists and Khris Middleton scored 20 for the Bucks (31-20).
Evan Fournier had 25 points and RJ Barrett 23 for the Knicks (23-27), who have lost six of seven and dropped into 12th place in the Eastern Conference. They continued to struggle at the free-throw line, shooting 16-for-28 to the Bucks’ 27-for-31.
After falling behind 57-42, the Knicks scored 21 points in the final 51/2 minutes of the second quarter to move within 64-63 before Pat Connaughton hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Alec Burks’ three-pointer 16 seconds into the fourth quarter brought the Knicks within 93-91. Antetokounmpo then scored seven points in a 15-3 run that gave the Bucks a 108-94 lead.
With the Bucks leading by 16, Fournier hit two three-pointers to help bring the Knicks within 113-105 with 4:25 remaining before Milwaukee pulled away.
By the time the first quarter was over, the Bucks had a 39-30 lead and Randle, who had talked in the morning about his excitement over the challenge of battling Antetokounmpo, likely was not so excited anymore. Antetokounmpo had 13 points, hitting all five of his field-goal attempts in the quarter, and Randle was scoreless.
"It’s been hard, but like my man J. Cole says, there’s beauty in the struggle," Randle said before the game. "It’s a struggle. We’re trying to figure it out. But this is really where you find out what people are about. This is when you find out about the character of the guys on your team, so I’m excited about — we still got a lot of games to play, so I’m excited to see how we push forward and push past it."
The team may figure it out, but figuring out what has gone on with Randle is equally important.
"Same thing, man," he said. "I’m going to stick to my guns. I’m going to stick to who I am as a person. That’s coming in, working every day, trying to be an infectious leader with my spirit and my energy and just try to be positive."
