The New York Knicks found themselves with a double-digit lead over the shorthanded Phoenix Suns on Friday night when an altercation involving Julius Randle and Cameron Johnson led to Randle getting ejected. Randle threw his shoulder into Johnson while Evan Fournier shot a three, and after Fournier knocked down the triple, Johnson appeared to say something that Randle did not appreciate.
It’s unclear what, exactly, Johnson said, but nevertheless, Randle went right up to him and went face-to-face. An official stepped in to try and separate the two, but as the jawing continued, Randle slapped the referee’s arm away before shoving Johnson. Nothing really happened beyond that — Johnson got held back by some Suns coaches, while players on both teams got Randle away from the situation.
Randle and Cam Johnson get face to face, Randle shoves Johnson and everyone gathers pic.twitter.com/yTOCs6kC12
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) March 5, 2022
Despite the fact that this was relatively tame, both Randle and Johnson were assessed technicals. Randle’s night came to an end a moment after that happened, as it was announced that he was assessed a second for escalating the situation. It was not specified which moment got him the second technical, although it stands to reason that slapping away a referee’s arm did him no favors.
Right after Randle’s ejection, the Knicks went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-point lead into the game’s fourth quarter.