Julius Randle on Game 4 benching: ‘I just want to win — it’s Thibs’ decision’

As expected, Knicks All-Star Julius Randle was tight-lipped about his coach’s decision to bench him the entire fourth quarter of the team’s Game 4 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

The Knicks star put forth a forgettable first three quarters — logging just seven points and two rebounds and missing all four of his three-point attempts through 27 minutes — before head coach Tom Thibodeau yanked him from the game.

The Knicks proceeded to run off with the win, building an 11-point lead and winning, 102-93. They are now one win away from the franchise’s first playoff series victory since 2013.

And not only has Randle shot poorly all series, but he watched the fourth quarter from the bench on Sunday. He said he isn’t upset with the coach’s decision, but didn’t further elaborate on his emotions.

“At the end of the day, I just want to win,” he said at the team’s training facility in Tarrytown on Tuesday. “I’m a competitor. Obviously, I would like to play, you know? But like I said, it’s Thibs’ decision.”

Randle said there was no conversation between him and Thibodeau in the third quarter ahead of his benching.

Thibodeau wanted to focus on what it would take to close out the Cavaliers in Cleveland in Game 5, but naturally, he had to answer for the decision to sit his team’s best player the entire fourth quarter.

“It’s not easy,” he said on Tuesday. “He’s gonna finish [the game] 99% of the time.”

Thibodeau said it wasn’t Randle alone whose lack of energy allowed the Cavaliers to get back into the game in the third quarter, but the unit on the floor in its entirety. The Knicks led by nine at the half but allowed the Cavaliers to make it a one-possession game entering the fourth quarter.

“Not just [Julius], it was our team. The way we came out to start the third, we didn’t play well as a team,” he said. “And so the bottom line is you’ve got to win the game, and in the fourth quarter, we ended up going on a run — and so you ride it out.

“Those guys were playing well. I think the lead went from three or four to 10. So you know, you’ve got to ride it. You’ve got to make a tough decision, but you’re always gonna put the team first.”

Randle shrugged off the idea that he could have done more on defense in the third quarter.

“I don’t know,” he said.

Asked if his effort level was there, he responded: “That’s for you to judge.”

Star point guard Jalen Brunson said “you couldn’t tell” if Randle was upset with being benched by looking at him in the fourth quarter.

“His demeanor was great,” Brunson said after Tuesday’s practice in Tarrytown. “As I said after the game, he’s been a leader on and off the floor. We rally with him, we roll with him. That’s our guy. Just how he composed himself was fantastic.

“He was as big part of us winning as anyone else, just because of how he was handling himself as a leader. He’s been great all year.”

Thibodeau pointed to the left ankle injury that kept Randle out the final four games of the regular season. That injury could be a reason the All-Star forward has struggled to find shooting efficiency this series.

Randle is shooting just 21-of-65 (32.3%) from the field and 8-of-31 (25.8%) from downtown through the first four games against the Cavaliers.

“He had to do a lot to get back to play. So you’re talking about a quick turnaround from a late Friday night game to early Sunday,” Thibodeau said. “But he’s got a couple of days to recharge. He’s bouncing around today pretty good, which is what we thought. I felt he would be impacted in that game. Like I said, I know he’s given us everything he has, and it’s important.

“Whatever he has, we need every bit of it.”

The All-Star forward, however, says his ankle is not bothering him and that he was not physically limited in the third quarter of Game 4, when the Cavaliers erased a nine-point halftime deficit to make it a one-possession game entering the fourth quarter.

“Just [need to] get my rhythm and my legs back,” he said. “I’m not really wanting to take time off or sit down, so it’s new territory for me. But getting rhythm and legs back — I’d rather be trying to find it while we’re winning than losing, obviously.”

The Knicks clearly need the best version of Randle on the floor — not just if they’re going to continue their Cinderella playoff run, but also if they’re going to close out the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Wednesday.

Brunson underscored Randle’s importance to this Knicks team’s playoff hopes going forward.

“When Julius is at his best, he’s very difficult to stop. I’m really not too worried about him,” he said. “The way he comes in every day, works on his stuff, gets his routine in, gets his mind ready to go. He just has a next-day’s mentality for him.

“I’m not really too worried about him at all. I just know he’s going to come back and just be better.”