Julius Randle hardly resembled the third-team All-NBA player he’d been feted as earlier Wednesday, drawing some boos and groans from the home crowd as most of his shot attempts failed to find the net in the first quarter.
But the team’s leading scorer helped prove that he and the Knicks “wanted it more” than the Heat on this night — and wanted their season to stay alive for at least one more game — by providing a massive lift in the second half in the Knicks’ 112-103 victory to draw within 3-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinals and force Game 6 on Friday in Miami.
He also notably got whacked in the eye by Bam Adebayo on a rebound battle in the first quarter, but he remained in the game.
“It’s the price of war, I guess. First quarter, after that I couldn’t really see anything,” Randle said. “But seeing the guys go out and compete the way they did energized me, started to feel a little bit better after that. Just happy we can get a win.”
Randle, who had drawn criticism for suggesting “maybe they want it more” after the Heat dominated the Knicks on the boards in Game 4 on Monday, scored 21 of his 24 points following a quiet first quarter.
He also finished with five assists over 36 minutes.
Randle missed six of seven shots and three of four from 3-point range with only one rebound and a minus-10 rating while playing all 12 minutes of the first quarter, which concluded with the Knicks trailing, 24-14.
He sat down to open the second quarter and the Knicks erupted with a 18-2 run to grab a 32-26 turnaround lead.
Randle didn’t check back in until 3:32 remained in the quarter, later than has been customary in Tom Thibodeau’s usual rotation. The two-time All-Star forward drew three fouls before halftime, sinking 4 of 6 free throws, before nailing a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining for a 50-47 lead at intermission.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks vs. Heat NBA playoff series
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- Knicks battle but fall in season-ending Game 6 loss to Heat
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- Brunson’s heroic night spoiled by late turnover
“It gave us the lead. I guess it gave us momentum going into the second half,” Randle said. “That’s all I can really say.”
Randle drove to the basket early in the third and sprayed the ball to the corner out of a collapsing double-team to set up a Brunson trey. After he sliced through the paint for two driving buckets, Randle drove and kicked out for another 3-pointer by Brunson and a 67-54 lead with 7:37 left in the quarter.
His 20-point showing on 8-for-13 shooting in the Game 4 loss represented the first time in 13 career postseason games in which he connected on more than 50 percent of his field-goal attempts. He finished Wednesday’s game 7-for-13 from the floor, making that two consecutive games shooting over .500.
A nice way to finish following his second All-NBA designation in three years.
“Obviously, it’s a great honor. It’s a testament, those things don’t happen without the group of guys that we have,” Randle said. “I’ve said it all year, it takes the belief of the front office, our coaching staff, and most of all my teammates. They trust me to go out there and compete every night and play at a high level. … It’s a huge honor.”