Julius Randle on what doomed NY vs. Anthony Davis, Lakers

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The New York Knicks were dealt an absolutely crushing loss against the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime, 101-99. The defeat wasn’t easy to swallow for the team, with star forward Julius Randle knowing exactly where to throw the blame – at himself.

The Knicks All-Star made himself accountable for the loss, as reported by SNY Knicks beat reporter Ian Begley.
“I had a chance to finish the job and I didn’t finish the job…. I’m looking at myself…. Put it on me.”

Julius Randle holds himself accountable for NYK’s OT loss to LAL. Randle referenced his missed shot at the end of regulation several times in his post-game interview: “I had a chance to finish the job and I didn’t finish the job…. I’m looking at myself…. Put it on me.”
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) May 12, 2021

The Knicks were up by as many 10 points in the middle of the fourth quarter. A Frank Ntilikina three-pointer pushed their lead over the Lakers to 85-75 with 7:39 left to play. New York actually led the entire way in that final frame, with the Lakers merely managing to tie it twice, including on the decisive final bucket in regulation which was a tipped-in offensive rebound from veteran Wesley Matthews.
While Randle did the noble thing trying to take the brunt of the damage, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau pointed to the box score to explain how things went wrong. Matthews’ putback was just one of 14 offensive rebounds for the Lakers, which did in the Knicks despite them playing stellar enough defense to get the stops.

“All we had to do is get one rebound. The rebounding beat us tonight,” Tom Thibodeau said after NYK’s OT loss to LAL. Lakers had 14 offensive rebounds, including putback by Wesley Matthews w/3 seconds left in regulation to tie the game. NYK is in 6th in East with 3 games to play.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) May 12, 2021

But ask any coach in the NBA and they’ll tell you that the defensive possession only ends once you secure the rebound. It’s not a stretch to think Thibs was stressing this out in the Knicks locker room after the loss. The defeat had major implications for both teams’ playoff positioning.
The Lakers are still holding out hope they could escape the play-in tournament, and a looming date with Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors. While the Knicks are looking to avoid facing a top three seed which would be either the Brooklyn Nets or Milwaukee Bucks, and stay within the top five seeds.