“He’s one of the few people who, I guess, is not scared,” Randle said.
Randle, a physical force, has known this for a while since he and Portis have faced off “my whole life” as power forwards in the same high school class from the South.
Still, Randle tried to trash-talk his longtime rival in the second quarter of Saturday’s Knicks-Bucks matchup — when the Knicks All-Star converted an and-one and proceeded to flex his chest — which only seemed to activate Portis.
From that moment, Portis scored 19 of his 23 points — displaying his usual boisterousness while yelling at Randle and celebrating wildly — as the Bucks rolled to a 130-111 victory.
Portis, who has been on a tear for a couple weeks, is pumped for the Knicks rematch on Christmas afternoon.
“It’s one of those things on a yearly basis, you watch all your favorites — the Kobe Bryants of the world, the Kevin Garnetts of the world, the LeBron James of the world,” Portis said. “And to be able to play on Christmas at the Garden, the Mecca of basketball, I’m excited.”
Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) looks to drive past New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) in the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Randle, a physical force, also played well offensively Saturday while scoring 26 points but was killed on the glass.
He and Portis were teammates in New York for a season after both were signed during the 2019 free agency.
It was a poor fit because they played the same position and Portis later labeled it “the most miserable season of my career.”
Now they’re back to being friendly rivals.
Julius Randle (30) drives to the basket as he is double teamed by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the fourth quarter. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“We’ve been doing it for a while,” Randle said. “But it’s always fun.”
With greater minutes comes greater responsibility.
With injuries decimating the center rotation, Isaiah Hartenstein went from backup to indispensable and it killed the Knicks in Saturday’s loss to the Bucks.
Hartenstein managed just two minutes before committing his second foul and being removed for Taj Gibson.
The Knicks trailed by nine when Hartenstein returned in the second quarter and never recovered.
“That’s just something I can’t do, especially given the situation we’re in right now,” Hartenstein said. “Before when we had [Mitchell Robinson], we had the luxury of: if one guy was not doing good, or if one guy was in foul trouble, I don’t think there was any drop-off at all. So I feel like especially in a situation where Taj is coming back trying to get his feet under him, I can’t do that. I think I put us in a bad situation, especially against a team like that, where even when I come back, it’s kinda hard to get the lead back. So for the future, I’ve just gotta be better in that situation, and I will be better in that situation.”
It’s unclear how long this will last. Jericho Sims, who sprained his ankle, is expected to return in about a week — maybe longer — but Hartenstein would still get the majority of minutes. Robinson is out for an extended period, perhaps until the end of the season.
New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) argue with an official in the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Unless team president Leon Rose awakens and completes a trade, Hartenstein, who is bloodied in almost every game these days (he got stitches in his lip from an elbow last week against the Nets), can’t get in foul trouble.
“We played out of a hole from the start of the game,” Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought we got behind when Isaiah got into foul trouble to start and then it snowballed from there.”
The Knicks are playing their 56th game on Christmas, the most in the NBA after competing in the league’s first Xmas contest in 1947.
They’re 23-32 all-time on the holiday, with their last victory in 2021 against the Hawks (when Kemba Walker produced a triple-double).
As he struggled through the opening week-plus of the season, Julius Randle had been battling through ankle pain and, as a player committed to availability, resisted attempts from the Knicks to get him to rest, multiple sources told The Post.
Randle, who underwent arthroscopic ankle surgery in the offseason, was operating at about “70 percent,” a source said.
And through the opening six games — while limited by that pain — Randle was among the league’s least efficient players with a notable drop-off in his explosiveness.
Part of the reason Randle’s production has increased recently, sources said, is that his ankle is feeling better.
In the last two games — both victories for the Knicks — Randle averaged 25 points while shooting 43%.
It was well above his season averages of 16.5 points at 31.6%.
Randle, 28, has shunned load management and is among the league leaders in total minutes over the last three seasons.
Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) passes as Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama (1) tries to block on Nov. 8, 2023.Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
“He’s too proud to sit,” a source said.
Publicly, Randle has refused to use the ankle as an excuse for his struggles, even after two sprains left him ineffective in the playoffs.
“I have my own science,” Randle said last season about load management. “I just put way too much into my body, for me personally to cheat myself out of being available for my team.”
Julius Randle talks to head coach Tom Thibodeau during the Knicks’ win over the Spurs on Nov. 8, 2023.Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
There will be more time for Randle to heal.
Counting Thursday, the Knicks will have had a rare three days off before Sunday’s matinee against the Hornets.
The Knicks are back in the playoffs and back in the 4-vs.-5 opening-round series as the lower seed two years after they were the fourth seed in their unexpected 2020-21 appearance in Tom Thibodeau’s first season as their head coach.
In his first career postseason experience in that opening-round series two years ago, All-Star forward Julius Randle was swarmed and flustered by the Hawks in an eye-opening five-game elimination.
His supporting cast is far better this time around, however, with the additions of Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, the health of Mitchell Robinson, the experience gained by RJ Barrett and others, and the internal improvement and impact of homegrown players such as Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes.
The Post’s Peter Botte breaks down the key matchups that will decide whether the Knicks can get by former trade target Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers — and advance to the second round for the first time since 2013:
Knicks’ 3-point shooting vs. Cavaliers’ 3-point defense
The Cavaliers were the top team in the league this year in overall defensive rating and fewest points allowed per game (106.9), but opponents shot 36.8 percent on 3-point attempts against them, which ranked 23rd overall.
The Knicks upped their volume of 3-point tries to eighth in the league, and they connected on nearly half (17-for-36) of their long-range shots in their win at Cleveland two weeks ago, including seven makes by Jalen Brunson in a 48-point eruption.
BrJalen Brunson drives down the court during a recent game against the Wizards.Noah K. Murray / NY Post
Isaac Okoro, the Cavaliers’ best perimeter defender, could be a difference maker if he returns from a sore left knee to play for the first time since March 26.
Edge: Even
Cavaliers’ 3-points shooting vs. Knicks’ 3-point defense
Expanded roles for Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley — and to a lesser degree, Deuce McBride — helped the Knicks bounce back from a few disastrous early efforts guarding the 3-point arc, and they finished the season a respectable 12th in the league in that category.
The Cavaliers’ highest volume outside shooters are Donovan Mitchell (9.3 attempts per game), Darius Garland (6.0) and Caris LeVert (4.4), and they shot 36.7 percent as a team.
Edge: Cavaliers
Donovan Mitchell, shooting a jumper over the Nets’ Mikal Bridges during a recent game, is one of the Cavaliers’ top 3-point shooters.Getty Images
Rebounding
Mitchell Robinson led the NBA in offensive rebounding among qualifying players with 4.5 per appearance, and Julius Randle’s 10.0 boards per game overall helped the Knicks finish tied for second on the glass with an average of 46.6 per game.
The midseason addition of Josh Hart also added 7.0 per game off the bench.
Cleveland starts dual 6-foot-11 bigs Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, but finished 25th in rebounding, with 41.1 on average.
Edge: Knicks
Drawing fouls and shooting free throws
The Knicks attempted the third-most freebies in the league (25.5), with Randle, Brunson and RJ Barrett all above five tries per game.
They connected on just 75.5 percent, though, good for 22nd in the league, with even Quickley slipping to 82 percent after hitting 88.5 percent from the stripe his first two seasons.
Mitchell and Garland average around 10 attempts between them, while shooting a combined 86.5 percent.
Edge: Cavaliers
Knicks’ ability to get paint points vs. Cavaliers’ interior defense
Led largely by Robinson’s offensive rebounding, the Knicks’ 16.2 second-chance points per game ranked third in the league, although they finished in the middle of the pack (15th) in paint points.
Barrett is at his best when he’s attacking the rim, and Brunson and Quickley have proven able to score near the rim with floaters and short jumpers.
Mitchell Robinson pulls a down a rebound away from the Wizards’ Daniel Gafford during a recent game.Noah K. Murray / NY Post
Mobley (1.5) and Allen (1.2) both blocked more than one shot per appearance.
Edge: Even
Cavaliers’ ability to get paint points vs. Knicks’ interior defense
The Knicks missed Robinson’s inside presence when he was sidelined for several weeks following January thumb surgery, and he finished sixth in the league with 1.8 blocks per game.
Backup center Isaiah Hartenstein also has contributed defensively in the second half.
The Cavaliers were a few notches above the Knicks (12th) in paint points with 52.7 per game.
Edge: Knicks
In transition
The Knicks tied for 25th in steals with just 6.4 per game, and they were 15th again in transition points. Mitchell noted recently that the Knicks seemed to play “faster” and less in half-court sets with Randle replaced by Obi Toppin in the lineup late in the season. Hart also likes to push the ball whenever in the game. The Cavaliers were 24th in the league in transition points with just fewer than 20 per game.
Edge: Knicks
Depth/bench
Much of this category for the Knicks depends on Randle’s availability, but their four-man second-unit — largely Quickley, a viable Sixth Man candidate, and most recently, Toppin — have filled in effectively all season.
Hart’s arrival in February gave them versatile dimensions they didn’t have previously, and Hartenstein has improved as the season has gone on.
Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, going up for a shot during a recent game against the Wizards, is a viable Sixth Man of the Year candidate.NBAE via Getty Images
Cleveland’s primary depth players — namely Okoro, LeVert and Cedi Osman — also are solid contributors.
Edge: Knicks
Coaching
Clearly, factions of fans believe Tom Thibodeau is too stubborn with his rotations and heavy minutes, but his decision to bench high-priced veterans Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose and since-traded Cam Reddish in November and December resulted in a 37-22 finish to secure his second playoff berth in three seasons.
Cleveland’s J.B. Bickerstaff has taken a 22-win team in 2021 to 44 and 51 wins the past two seasons.
Edge: Even
Intangibles
The Cavaliers boast the player the Knicks failed to obtain last summer in the 26-year-old Mitchell, the Westchester County product who said of motivation to face his hometown team that he “wouldn’t want it any other way.”
The Knicks need the Garden to rock like the 1990s. They also will need to grab at least one win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to advance, and their 24-17 road mark was their best record away from MSG since 1996-97.
Edge: Knicks
Predictions
Peter Botte
Win or lose, the deeper Knicks will be far more competitive than they were against the Hawks two years ago.
As long as Julius Randle is back alongside Jalen Brunson by Game 2, the Knicks’ road success this season will help them win the one or two they’ll need in Cleveland to advance.
Knicks in 7
Zach Braziller
A healthy Randle would’ve changed this, perhaps enabling the Knicks to steal one of the first two games in Cleveland. But he won’t be himself early in this series, and the Knicks will be fighting an uphill battle the entire way.
The best player — Donovan Mitchell — is the difference in a memorable seven-game battle.
Cavaliers in 7
Mike Vaccaro
If the Knicks were 100 percent healthy, this pick would be Knicks in six.
But since their two best players, Brunson and Randle, will both be various stages of hobbled, it’s hard to see how they can squeeze out four wins.
Julius Randle enjoyed a “monster month” for the Knicks, in Tom Thibodeau’s estimation.
The power forward averaged 28.3 points and 37.1 minutes in 15 December games, with the Knicks’ 9-6 record for the month featuring the highs of an eight-game winning streak and the lows of a five-game losing skid that was halted with Saturday’s win in Houston.
“Just locked-in, focused. Whatever my team needs to get it done,” Randle said after scoring 35 against the Rockets, his third time in four games with at least that many points. “Really just reading the defense, letting the game decide what I should and shouldn’t do, and just being patient out there.
“I’m in a pretty good rhythm,” he added, “but just trying to play the game the right way.”
For December, Randle shot 47.8 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from 3-point range and averaged 11.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists to raise his overall numbers for the season to 24.1 points, 9.7 boards and 3.8 dimes. He also averaged 24.1 points in 2020-21 when he was named to his first career All-Star team and won the league’s Most Improved Player award.
Julius Randle is preparing to maintain his All-Star level form in January.Tim Heitman/Getty Images
“Yeah, he’s just had a monster month,” Thibodeau said. “We’re asking him to do a lot, too. He’s scoring, he’s passing, he’s rebounding. He’s playing big minutes, he’s handled it all.”
Randle, who said earlier on the trip that he’s focused more on the Knicks than on making the All-Star team again, also got to the free-throw line often against the Rockets, hitting 12 of 16, to go along with 12 rebounds and six assists with Jalen Brunson (hip) and RJ Barrett (lacerated finger) still sidelined.
“Julius was terrific,” Thibodeau added. “He got us to the bonus early, and we ended up getting a lot of free throws which allowed us to set our defense, too. So that was important. But I also thought he made a lot of good plays that got us into rhythm, got our team into rhythm.”
“He made a lot of good plays. When the double [teams] came, he was very unselfish.”
Brunson is questionable and Barrett remains out for the Knicks’ home game Monday against Phoenix. All-Star guard Devin Booker (groin) and forward Cameron Johnson (knee) are out for the Suns.
Obi Toppin (fractured fibula) said he’s “feeling good” and “doing more,” but the Knicks still have not given a timeframe for his return.
Tom Thibodeau was close with Jalen Brunson the person, having known him since he was a young child. He had only watched him from a distance as a player, first in high school, then college and later the NBA.
But almost immediately after Brunson agreed to join the Knicks, his new coach had a good idea of why Brunson was going to be so valuable as his new point guard.
“I’ll be honest with you, when we first signed him he started coming in immediately in the summer and I knew right then, just by what he was doing,” Thibodeau said. “Not by what he was saying. Not by anything other than the way he came in and the way he worked each and every day. I knew that was exactly what we needed.”
Through the season’s first 31 games — in good times and bad, when he’s at less than 100 percent, when games are on the line — it has become clear what the addition of Brunson has meant to the Knicks. After Brunson inked that four-year, $104 million deal to leave the Mavericks, there was a narrative that he was overpaid. So far, it has been the opposite.
Jalen Brunson drives to the basket during the Knicks’ 132-94 blowout win over the Warriors.Robert Sabo
His brilliant first season as a Knick continued Tuesday, in the form of a 22-point, five-assist, no-turnover masterpiece that led the Knicks to a 132-94 blowout of the defending champion Warriors and extended their NBA-leading win streak to eight. For the first time in nine meetings at the Garden, the Knicks beat the Warriors. This time, they had the star point guard on their side, as Golden State was without Stephen Curry due to a left shoulder injury, and they treated the Warriors like a sparring partner, instead of the other way around.
Brunson set the tone — with his scoring in the first half and passing after the break. He had plenty of help, four teammates in double figures. Immanuel Quickley snapped out of a shooting slump to hit five 3-pointers and score 22 points, Quentin Grimes had 19 points as he continued his impressive play and RJ Barrett contributed 18 points and five assists. Julius Randle was again a force inside, notching 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Jordan Poole led the Warriors (15-17) with 26 points.
Immanuel Quickley, who scored 22 points, shoots a jumper during the Knicks’ blowout win.Robert Sabo
After averaging over 27 points on the recent 3-0 road trip, Brunson picked up where he left off. He scored 16 points in the opening half on a variety of midrange jumpers, and went on a personal 9-0 run in the second quarter that gave the Knicks their largest lead of the first half at 57-43.
The ball moved well in the opening half, the Knicks racking up 15 assists on 24 made field goals and shooting a blistering 52.2 percent from the field. They hit 10 of their 19 3-point attempts, three apiece from Grimes and Quickley, and were dominant on the glass, owning a 22-14 edge. The lead was 13 at the break, and really could’ve been larger had the Warriors not shot so well from deep, making eight of 21 attempts.
Mitchell Robinson slams one home during the Knicks’ dominant victory.Robert Sabo
There was a scare late in the first half that halted the positive vibes momentarily. Grimes landed on the foot of Warriors guard Ty Jerome, and appeared to turn his right ankle. Jerome was assessed a Flagrant 1. Grimes hit two free throws, came out of the game, but started the second half.
Brunson used the pass instead of the shot in the third quarter, stacking up four assists in the early portion of the period as the Knicks threatened to run the Warriors off the Garden floor. After hitting a jumper, Brunson set up a Grimes 3-pointer and Barrett layup on consecutive possessions, keying a 16-6 run that pushed the Knicks lead to a then game-high 21. It nearly doubled from there, ending in a 38-point win.
PHILADELPHIA — Even though mediocre teams are never supposed to win on the road against superior opponents, the Knicks had absolutely no choice but to win Friday. They were not exactly facing the Julius Erving-Moses Malone 76ers.
In fact, they weren’t even facing the Joel Embiid-James Harden 76ers. With Philadelphia’s two franchise players out, and with the deep, rough-and-tumble Eastern Conference offering no free passes, the Knicks needed to prove to themselves — and to everyone else — that they could at least sink a five-foot uphill putt after it had been practically conceded.
They did not hit that putt dead center. No, it did a 360 spin around the cup before falling at last, leaving the visitors at Wells Fargo Center looking more relieved than joyful at the final horn Friday night.
No surprise there. As a rule, nothing will come easily to this middling group. These are the Knicks after all, and after seven games the best thing that could be said about them is that they aren’t the Nets, and that maybe it isn’t such a horrible thing in the end that they failed to sign Kyrie Irving (with Kevin Durant) in the summer of 2019.
(The Knicks offered an apology to their fan base after that failure. Yes, that can be retracted now.)
But this eighth game, a 106-104 victory over Philly, might’ve done a lot more than get the Knicks back to .500. They were down 12 points early in the fourth quarter, and they didn’t have a clue how to cover Tyrese Maxey, the emerging star who scored 27 points in the first 36 minutes. While watching Immanuel Quickley’s college teammate repeatedly blow by a parade of overmatched defenders, it was hard not to think that the Knicks ended up with the wrong Kentucky guard in the 2020 draft.
The Knicks dug into a needed identity against the 76ers. Getty Images
What else is new, right? This was looking like another night to whine in print about the Knicks’ lack of a true superstar, their inability to trade for Donovan Mitchell or Dejounte Murray, and the fact that Mitchell, Murray, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Ja Morant — the four men most responsible for the Knicks’ four early defeats — had combined for 138 points and 39 assists in those games, delivering performances that you won’t be seeing on Tom Thibodeau’s side of the box score.
Only it didn’t play out like that. Thibodeau’s decision to start Quentin Grimes turned out to be a non-factor as Grimes scored two points and was minus-20 in 15 minutes. The Knicks committed 13 turnovers before 14 minutes of basketball had been played, they squandered a five-point halftime lead with a dreadful third quarter after Mitchell Robinson left the game with a bum knee, but then they overcame it all.
“We fought,” RJ Barrett said. “It was beautiful to see.”
Yes, an ugly game can indeed be a beautiful thing. Obi Toppin was making plays all over the floor — and making a persuasive case for the Toppin-Julius Randle pairing that keeps Thibs up at night — while Jalen Brunson was giving some locals in the crowd a reminder of what he did for Villanova, slicing down the lane for a basket, a drawn foul, and a three-point play with 1:05 left that was one of the biggest sequences of the night.
Asked beforehand what Brunson has brought to his new team, Sixers coach Doc Rivers said: “Leadership. Toughness. Big shot maker. Winner. Other than that … [laughter]. No, really, I think all those things are what he’s good at. I don’t think you look at him and see one thing that stands out, other than all the intangibles that make him a really good player.”
Jalen Brunson dribbles during the Knicks’ win over the 76ers. Getty Images
Brunson led the Knicks with 23 points and seven assists against only one turnover. He is not much to look at athletically, but he is too smart and efficient with the ball for that to matter.
“We were very resilient,” Brunson said. “We’ve had a lot of opportunities in other games. We’ve been up and we’ve been down and we came up short the last couple of those. But we finally did enough to win.”
That was the best part of the whole thing. Even with the addition of Brunson, the Knicks don’t have a lot of talent. They have a number of good players, but no great ones. If they want any shot of making the real playoffs, and staying out of the play-in tournament, they need to show consistent competitive heart from here until springtime.
“To me, you need that in everything in life,” said Barrett, who scored 22 points. “You’ve got to compete in everything to just try to do the best. We’ll definitely need that throughout the season.”
The Knicks don’t have an anchor. They don’t have a face of the franchise, and their hope that Barrett will grow into one is a 50-50 proposition at best.
They have to do all of the little things to compensate for the dearth of big names capable of doing the big things.
Thibodeau put it this way: “We’re asking everyone to sacrifice and put the team first. If we do that, we have a chance.”
The Knicks fought for their chance to win on Friday night. They’d better keep their boxing gloves laced tightly for the next five months.
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