Array
Julius Randle has made a concerted effort to cut back on his technical fouls this season, but losing his cool contributed to the Knicks’ latest loss Saturday to the Clippers.
The All-Star forward was assessed a technical foul — and had to be restrained by Tom Thibodeau and other coaches and teammates — after elbowing Clippers center Mason Plumlee on a defensive rebound with 0.3 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Kawhi Leonard and Plumlee knocked down all three free throws to turn a one-point Knicks lead into a two-point deficit.
The Clippers then extended that slim cushion to as many as 14 in the fourth, sending the Knicks to a 106-95 loss in their first of back-to-back games at Crypto.com Arena.
It marked their third straight defeat after a nine-game winning streak to fall to 39-30 overall ahead of Sunday’s game against the Lakers — with starting point guard Jalen Brunson missing 2 ¹/₂ of those three games with a bruised left foot.
