Knicks' Julius Randle Organized Players-Only Dinner After Loss to Thunder

Forward Julius Randle organized a players-only dinner for the New York Knicks after the team's 145-135 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon.

"It was good, good to have a team dinner like that," wing RJ Barrett said, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. "Try to figure this out the best that we can. We all care, trying to get this going on the right track."

The Thunder scored 122 points through the first three quarters. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points, and Josh Giddey posted a 24-point triple-double. OKC shot 62.5 percent as a team and 17-of-31 from three-point range.

This was a disastrous performance for a 6-7 Knicks team starting a five-game Western Conference road trip Tuesday against the Utah Jazz.

It's also been part of a trend of ugly losses this year. Four days earlier, the Knicks had lost 112-85 to the Brooklyn Nets in a game that was never close.

The Knicks might even be worse than their mediocre record implies. New York is No. 24 in net rating, per Basketball Reference, and No. 25 on the defensive end.

It's imperative for the Knicks to rebound quickly before the season snowballs out of control, and Barrett noted that the team is trying to "hold each other accountable" to get back in the win column.

"Just trying to hold each other accountable," Barrett said after shootaround Tuesday.
"Trying to get this going because we want to win."

The Knicks will try to do just that Tuesday. Tipoff is 9 p.m. ET in Salt Lake City.