Knicks forward Julius Randle appeared to suffer a back injury after taking a hard fall late in his team's 107-90 loss to the Cavaliers. After watching the play, everyone was asking the same question.
Why was he still in the game?
With the Knicks trailing by 23 points and roughly two minutes left on the clock, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau left Randle, along with fellow starters Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett, in the game.
"There's no reason for Brunson and Randle to be on the floor here," Reggie Miller said on the TNT broadcast.
Here's how the play in question unfolded.
MORE: Full schedule and updated scores for Cavaliers vs. Knicks
Julius Randle goes down in fourth quarter vs. Cavaliers
With 2:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, Randle attacked the basket and attempted to throw down a transition dunk before colliding with a trailing Jarrett Allen.
Following the contact from Allen, Randle landed awkwardly on his back, writhing in pain on the baseline before eventually getting to his feet and walking off the floor.
Allen was whistled for a Flagrant 1 foul for the play.
What did Tom Thibodeau say about Julius Randle?
Thibodeau spoke to reporters after the game, but he wasn't interested in providing a juicy quote.
"It's the playoffs," Thibodeau said. "So, I'll take a look at it. I saw a quick replay, but before I comment, I want to see it."
With the Knicks trailing by such a large margin, Thibodeau's decision to leave Randle in the game raised plenty of eyebrows.
"I actually was going to sub Julius out. He wanted to stay in for a couple more possessions just to find rhythm," Thibodeau said.
Will Julius Randle play in Game 3?
Randle said his back was "fine," per SNY's Ian Begley, and he confirmed that he wanted to stay in the game.
When asked about Allen's foul, Randle described it as "a little unnecessary."
"I understand, like, playoff basketball. You don't give up on plays, and I respect that," Randle said. "I'm somebody who plays hard. I respect that, but typically when you make those kind of plays, you run across their body, not through them.
"But it's fine. It's irrelevant. We get to go back to [Madison Square] Garden, and we'll see them there."
Randle played 34 minutes in Game 1 and 33 minutes in Game 2 after missing the last five games of the regular season with an ankle injury.
When is Game 3 of Knicks vs. Cavaliers?
The series shifts to New York for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 is on Friday, April 21, and it tips off at 8:30 p.m. on TNT.
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Knicks vs. Cavaliers schedule, TV channels
Here is the full series schedule:
Date | Game | Location | Time (ET)/Result | TV channel |
April 15 | Game 1 | Cleveland | Knicks 101, Cavaliers 97 | — |
April 18 | Game 2 | Cleveland | Cavaliers 107, Knicks 90 | — |
April 21 | Game 3 | New York | 8:30 p.m. | ABC |
April 23 | Game 4 | New York | 1 p.m. | ABC |
April 26 | Game 5 | Cleveland | TBD | TBD |
April 28 | Game 6* | New York | TBD | TBD |
April 30 | Game 7* | Cleveland | TBD | TBD |
*If necessary