There was a lot of attention on Jalen Brunson ahead of Tuesday’s In-Season Tournament quarterfinal showdown between the Milwaukee Bucks and the New York Knicks. This comes as no surprise considering how Brunson burned the Bucks with a 45-point eruption in their matchup earlier this season.
Well, not to be outdone, Knicks star Julius Randle sent out a stern reminder early in the game that he must not be overlooked.
Julius Randle Dominates Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo
Randle was the star of the show for the Knicks in the first quarter. The two-time All-Star was on fire in the opening period, scoring 12 points on a pristine 6-of-6 shooting. Two of his points came on an utterly dominant display against none other than Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo:
This was nasty stuff from Julius Randle on Giannis…🔥
Also peep Toppin on the bench 👀 pic.twitter.com/52zcfZT3nJ
— KnicksNation (@KnicksNation) December 6, 2023
Randle nearly had Giannis on skates with a behind-the-back dribble, which had the back-to-back MVP a bit off-balanced as he tried to cover Randle’s drive attempt. The Knicks forward then bodied Antetokounmpo to oblivion in a stunning show of upper-body strength.
NBA Fans React
You just knew that the mean streets of Twitter would have a lot to say about Randle’s eye-opening play against Antetokounmpo:
OMG!! Randle just cooked Giannis pic.twitter.com/M2KikNrCYl
— Big Knick Energy (@BigKnickEnergy_) December 6, 2023
Randle bitched Giannis? pic.twitter.com/L0jVnrh2MJ
— KnicksFleeceAdmiral 🇭🇹 (@KnicksPiece) December 6, 2023
Randle shrugged off Giannis so easily lol pic.twitter.com/yy4Jr2OEtM
— Yusuf 🇵🇸 (@Yusuf_K8) December 6, 2023
Julius Randle putting the moves and body on Giannis pic.twitter.com/tEwbynphUl
— PlaybyPlayBark (@playbyplaybark) December 6, 2023
Randle fucking Giannis ass up ngl
— . (@sitenyk) December 6, 2023
Giannis with 3 fouls after trying to stop Randle. This is what we want Randle to do, put their star in foul trouble
— Evil Daimyo (@Kang_In_da_norf) December 6, 2023
You have to remember that this is Giannis Antetokounmpo we’re talking about here, though. Apart from the fact that he’s now scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting after 15 minutes of action, you can be sure that the former back-to-back MVP will be out for some revenge in the second half of what has become a captivating contest between two unrelenting sides.
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