LOS ANGELES — Julius Randle has made a concerted effort to cut back on his technical fouls this season, but losing his cool contributed to the Knicks’ latest loss Saturday to the Clippers.
The All-Star forward was assessed a technical foul — and had to be restrained by Tom Thibodeau and other coaches and teammates — after elbowing Clippers center Mason Plumlee on a defensive rebound with 0.3 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Kawhi Leonard and Plumlee knocked down all three free throws to turn a one-point Knicks lead into a two-point deficit.
The Clippers then extended that slim cushion to as many as 14 in the fourth, sending the Knicks to a 106-95 loss in their first of back-to-back games at Crypto.com Arena.
It marked their third straight defeat after a nine-game winning streak to fall to 39-30 overall ahead of Sunday’s game against the Lakers — with starting point guard Jalen Brunson missing 2 ¹/₂ of those three games with a bruised left foot.
The loss also dropped Thibodeau’s team into a virtual tie with the Nets, although Brooklyn technically is percentage points ahead for the No. 5 playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
Randle also endured another horrendous shooting game (5-for-24) and finished with 19 points.
He is shooting 28.6 percent (18-for-63) over his past three games, and the technical foul marked his eighth of the season after getting slapped with a dozen last year.
Fill-in starter Immanuel Quickley scored 26 points, RJ Barrett had 11, and Mitchell Robinson recorded 14 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Knicks.
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Leonard scored 38 points and Paul George had 22 for the Clippers (36-33).
The Knicks missed nine of their first 11 field-goal attempts and their first five 3-point tries, and trailed 14-4 in the early going.
But Quickley, who shot 1-for-11 in Thursday’s loss in Sacramento, buried two buckets from long range and Quentin Grimes converted a traditional three-point play to close within 20-19 by the end of the opening quarter.
Obi Toppin (10 points) registered two dunks and two additional short-range baskets for eight in the first five minutes of the second.
Consecutive put-backs by Josh Hart (10) and ex-Clipper Isaiah Hartenstein gave the Knicks a 37-36 lead.
Randle and Barrett only scored two points apiece — on 3-for-14 combined shooting — with under two minutes remaining in the half, but Randle netted seven over the final 1:17 as the Knicks led 49-47 at intermission.
Barrett and Quickley knocked down 3-pointers early in the third to push the lead to five.
Barrett managed nine in the quarter, but after the Randle blow-up, the Knicks trailed 76-74 entering the final period.
Leonard’s three-point play gave the Clippers a 92-82 lead midway through the fourth.
