Kyle Kuzma paid dearly for taunting Julius Randle
Dec 6, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) in the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Kyle Kuzma thought it was safe for him to taunt Julius Randle during Friday’s game between the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks, but things turned around on him very quickly.
Kuzma put the Wizards up 14 late in the first half by driving and scoring on Randle. The Wizards forward could be seen directing a “too small” taunt at Randle after the bucket as he was retreating on defense.
You see what I see?? Careful now 🧪🧪#tylerrelphbasketball pic.twitter.com/IcC79M224e
— Tyler Relph (@TylerRelph10) February 25, 2023
Whether or not it had anything to do with the taunt, we may never know, but Randle went off after that. The Knicks forward promptly scored 11 straight points to cut the halftime deficit to four.
Kuzma called Julius Randle small, and Randle took it personally by scoring 11 straight points to close the gap from 19-to-4 prior halftime. 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/iMoMbnQzZl
— KnicksFeed & the Big Steppers (@knickzfeed) February 25, 2023
From that point on, the game belonged to Randle. He ended up scoring 46 points in a 115-109 New York victory, while Kuzma was limited to 23 points.
Kuzma with the "too small" taunt towards Julius Randle, who replied with 11 points in the last 2:30 minutes of the 1st half, for 25 points in total. Randle ended up with 46 points in the whole game (tying his career-high). Kuzma had 23 points on 23 FGA in the game. pic.twitter.com/SlVPYbrRvf
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) February 25, 2023
Kuzma has never backed down from throwing shade at opponents. In this instance, however, it went really poorly for him. He may have learned his lesson about going after Randle too much in the future.
