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A group of New York Knicks fans, frustrated after their season’s loss to the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, took their fear out on Julius Randle by defacing and pointing to his poster outside Madison Square Garden Friday night trampled around. The incident happened as fans left MSG’s watch party for Game 6, in which Randle didn’t perform well.
Randle, who was twice voted an All-Star and All-NBA Third Team last season, scored just 15 points in 3-for-14 shooting, a stat that leaves a paltry 1 of 7 from the 3-point distance involved. Poor performance from Randle and several other Knicks stars forced them to a 96-92 loss and ended their playoff run despite the heroics and individual brilliance of Jalen Brunson, who scored 41 points and forced a close game.
After the game, a group of fans in Madison Square Garden were seen trampling on a poster of Randle, which had already been defaced with the words “Trade me!” accompanied by a smiley face with tongue out.
Randle, who signed a four-year, $117 million deal to join the Knicks in 2019, has had a complicated relationship with the demanding New York market. In 2022, Randle responded to boos from Knicks fans with a thumbs-down gesture after returning to victory with 25 points.
Fan frustration with Randle over the Knicks’ elimination from the playoffs was no accident, as the team’s All-Star disappointed despite the Knicks overall having their best postseason run in a decade. In two rounds of playoff basketball, Randle averaged just 16.6 points and 8.3 rebounds with a 37.4 percent shot percentage.