Sunday night at Madison Square Garden seemed like the perfect stage for a Julius Randle appreciation party, the 15,000 fans in attendance able to shout their approval for all that he accomplished this season. And all they needed to make it complete, to fulfill the MVP chants, would be another Randle star turn and a win.
But instead, Randle was an afterthought on the night, failing in the first postseason game of his seven-year career, scoring 15 points and shooting just 6-for-23 and an empty final minute — bricking a three and then not getting a shot off in time in the final second.