Julius Randle (30) and John Collins (20) got a bit heated in the early going of Game 3. Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Julius Randle and John Collins got into it early in Game 3

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 5/28/21

It didn’t take long for things to heat up again between the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks in what has been a rough, physical series.

A series of clock malfunctions in the first minute of Friday’s Game 3 left both teams milling around on the floor for a bit. Knicks forward Julius Randle took the opportunity to work one of the referees after being called for an early foul while defending Hawks forward John Collins.

Collins took note of what Randle was doing, and he intervened with what looked like some hilarious trash talk and even better facial expressions from Collins.

Randle and Collins having words with each other pic.twitter.com/nSK2NrTIHB

— Alex. (@Dubs4O8) May 28, 2021

It’s worth wondering whether some of this discussion was related to one of the Hawks’ complaints about how the series has been played and officiated.

Both Randle and Collins have struggled to get going offensively in the series, but the defense has certainly been there. This is just indicative of how hotly competitive a series this has become.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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