Julius Randle was 3-for-11 from the field after three quarters, and in the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves’ 115-104 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, Randle hit his first shot attempt.
The Knicks called a timeout down eight, and Randle did something that might seem odd for anyone else who was shooting just 33% up until that point — he flexed for the Target Center crowd.
“It was just whatever to get myself going at that point, so that’s just really what it was,” Randle said. “I wasn’t really down, like mentally, up until that point. It was just more of an energy lift, crowd got going, I got into it, they gave me energy, and I just rode it from there.”
That moment was a snapshot into the evolution of Randle as a player and as a person, one who recognizes he has fluctuating moods. Since coming to Minnesota, he has done his best to guard against sending out bad energy and keep the good energy flowing even when he might be struggling.
“Yeah, I haven’t been great at that in my career,” said Randle, who is in his 12th NBA season. “I put so much into the game and work really hard, so you kind of become a perfectionist, mentally, and for me that’s always been tough. But just staying in the moment and, like I said, just being present.”
The Wolves benefited from that approach, as Randle sparked a fourth-quarter spurt that pushed them past the Knicks: 7-for-9 for 17 of his 25 points.
There was a lot of affection among fans for Karl-Anthony Towns, whom the crowd for cheered both when he was introduced and when he fouled out of the game. He finished with 40 points and 13 rebounds. For a lot of fans, the trade that sent him to New York for Randle and Donte DiVincenzo stung, and it there was a long acclimation process for Randle with his new team and fan base.
Nearly 16 months later, that relationship has never been better, with Randle putting in the work on and off the court to better himself and fit in with this team.
