Julius Randle cusses out Knicks fans after thumbs down

The New York Knicks took down the Boston Celtics on Thursday night in what was an amazing, 25-point comeback. Evan Fournier had a career-high 41 points and RJ Barrett hit a crazy buzzer-beater.

All-Star Julius Randle struggled in the first half but did some serious damage in the second. He ended the game with 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals…

And one thumbs down.

Julius Randle gave New York Knicks fans a thumbs down during their win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night

During the fourth quarter of the contest, after a made layup, the Madison Square Garden crowd was exploding with cheers for Randle. But the 27-year-old forward was having none of it.

He responded to MSG’s cheers with a thumbs down reminiscent of Javy Baez’s gestures towards New York Mets fans. Maybe it’s just that Empire State of Mind?

Throughout the entirety of the first half, as the New York Knicks were getting blown out by the Celtics, Knicks fans in MSG were raining down boos towards Randle and the rest of the Knicks.

Randle finished the first half 3-of-9 from the field and 0-of-3 from three-point land. He only had seven points and was clearly not exempt from the boos of the crowd.

While the Knicks would eventually finish off one of the biggest comebacks of the NBA season, everything was not all fine and dandy. There were no BINGs to BONG at the end of the game.

In his postgame interview, Randle wasn’t as upbeat as someone who just made a massive comeback should be. Clearly, the cause of his thumbs-down gesture was still on his mind.

When asked about the incident, Julius Randle said his message to New York Knicks fans was to “shut the f*** up”

He was asked by the media about the signal he made. Randle made it perfectly clear how he felt and why he did what he did. When asked about what message he was trying to send with the gesture, he kept his response to four words:

“Shut the f*** up.”

Even when asked about the constant criticism the team has faced this season, Randle said, “I really don’t give a f— what anybody has to say, to be honest.”

Fournier defended his teammate after the game and said that Randle probably wasn’t too pleased with the booing. He also said that Randle is bound to get more criticism than others due to being the face of the franchise.

So, the New York Knicks were able to get a win, but it wasn’t a very pleasant one in the end. Who will win this battle? Julius Randle or an army of angry Knicks fans?

We’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out. Hopefully, Side Talk will have an episode on this in the next few days.