PHILADELPHIA — Late in the third quarter Tuesday night Julius Randle drove the left side of the lane, his shot was blocked out of bounds amid a crowd of Philadelphia 76ers defenders. As the teams retreated to a timeout, Randle pleaded — quietly, kindly — with referee Ken Mauer.
It was a stark contrast with the last image of Randle from a night earlier, angrily raging at the crew chief in Brooklyn, Scott Foster, knocking over a chair on his way to the locker room. Maybe he’d learned a lesson or maybe he was just exhausted, too tired to add any effort to his workload.