Julius Randle shakes off slow start to deliver for Knicks with season on line

Julius Randle hardly resembled the third-team All-NBA player he’d been feted as earlier on 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.

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.

Randle sat down to open the second quarter and the Knicks erupted with a 18-2 run to grab a 32-26 turnaround lead, highlighted by a lob pass for a dunk from Jalen Brunson to Randle’s replacement, Obi Toppin, who’d played barely five minutes in Game 2.

Julius Randle scored 24 points for the Knicks in their Game 5 win.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Toppin also hopped into the front row next to the Knicks’ bench to keep a ball in play and extend one possession in that run.

Randle didn’t check back in until 3:32 remained in the quarter, later than has been customary in 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.

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.

Jalen Brunson takes the ball to the basket against the Heat in Game 5 on Wednesday.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

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.

Randle also had been tabbed for the second team All-NBA squad in 2021 before slogging through a rough five-game playoff elimination against the Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.

But 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.