Julius Randle reveals how Ant-Man’s pep talk inspired him in Game 3 win

Julius Randle was absolutely on fire this weekend, powering the Timberwolves into a statement win on Saturday evening, when they blew out the Thunder by 42 points and earned themselves their first win of these Western Conference Finals. 

The game was already cooked by the third quarter, leading in from of the Target Center stands by 34 points. Just as Oklahoma City called a timeout out of desperation, Julius walked to the center of the court, raised his hands and shouted: “We home now!”

Most of his inspiration though, came from co-star Anthony Edwards, who also delivered 30 points during his first 30 minutes of play. After their second loss of the series last Thursday, the Wolves guard delivered some words of encouragement to Randle which stuck in his mind throughout there weekend.

“He was like, ‘Bro, just shake that. Like, you good. Don’t worry about it,’” the veteran revealed. “And as the flight went on, I was able to start smiling and laughing again while we’re playing cards and all that stuff. So he’s very mature and very in-tune with the team, and as a leader of the team you need that.”

The truth is, the 30-year-old had struggled in his first games of these series against OKC. However, this time around he posted 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting with four rebounds, three assists, with no turnovers. “The home energy had me going today,” Randle shared.

“It gave me a lot of juice. I just wanted to feed off of that energy. I know our team feeds off of it. I was just having fun out there,” he continued, as he compared Saturday’s performance to his Game 2 with six points on 2-for-11 shooting with four turnovers.

He then added: “Obviously as a competitor I want to play, but it’s all about the team and I wanted to make sure that I came in the same if it’s a good day or if it’s a bad day,” Julius explained. “I think it’s important for my teammates to see it. As hard as it is at times, you’ve got to check your ego at the door.”