Knicks' Julius Randle on Game 4 benching: ‘I’m a competitor. Obviously, I would like to play’

In his first comments since he was benched in the Knicks’ Game 4 win, Julius Randle kept his feelings close to the vest.

“We won the game,” the All-Star forward said two days after taking a 3-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Randle had just seven points and two rebounds on 3-for-10 shooting from the floor (0-for-3 from three) through 27 minutes before head coach Tom Thibodeau relegated him to being just another spectator in a sold-out, raucous Madison Square Garden.

“At the end of the day, I just want to win,” Randle said, via the New York Daily News. “I’m a competitor. Obviously, I would like to play, you know? But like I said, it’s Thibs’ decision.”

When asked if he thought he could have done more defensively before his benching, Randle said he “didn’t know.” And when asked if his defensive effort was the reason for his benching, he added, “that’s for you to judge.”

Thibodeau pointed to the entire team’s play and spoke about sticking with the hot unit during the Knicks’ fourth-quarter run.

“Not just [Randle], it was our team. The way we came out to start the third, we didn’t play well as a team,” the head coach said Tuesday. “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… You’ve got to make a tough decision, but you’re always gonna put the team first.”

After Sunday's game, Thibs said, "There are a number of guys who are sacrificing and putting the team first. So I think that’s critical.”

Randle said he did not have a conversation with his head coach before he was sat and Thibodeau pointed to the quick turnaround between Game 3 and 4 and the forward’s lingering ankle injury, which sidelined him for New York's final five regular-season games.

“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 on Tuesday. “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.”

But Randle said his ankle isn't bothering him and he wasn't limited prior to being benched.

“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.”

But Sunday's benching will have to be an exception and not a trend if the Knicks are going to close out the series win and move forward in the playoffs.

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

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