Javier Baez had the advantage of playing every day, but the Mets infielder didn’t need more than one to officially endear himself back to a fan base after apologizing for his own thumbs-down moment.

For Julius Randle, the wait continues.

The Knicks forward’s first chance to get the Garden crowd back on his side — since his thumbs-down incident Thursday came with a postgame message of “shut the f–k up” — went awry Monday night, when he delivered a two-point effort and heard more boos.

Randle will get his next opportunity Wednesday against the Mavericks, when a big night could go a long way in squashing the issue or another ineffective game could allow it to linger even longer. It appears that Randle’s improved play might be the only way to assuage the fan base, as on Tuesday he was not interested in mending fences with fans through another press conference — his first since making the profane comment Thursday night.

“I’ve already addressed it,” Randle said repeatedly to multiple questions about the saga, instead referring to the apology he posted to Instagram on Friday.

After a nondescript first season in New York, Randle largely won over Knicks fans last year as he led the team to a surprise playoff berth and was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. But he hasn’t been the same player this season, and with the Knicks at the halfway point of their 82-game schedule at 20-21, their fans seem to be running out of patience.

“I’ve seen them go crazy over Julius,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of the Garden faithful. “That’s part of it. They’re passionate. Whether it’s praise or criticism, it doesn’t matter. I love that they’re passionate about their team. Julius is passionate about the city, our fans, the game, winning. And that’s all that matters.”

The Knicks have won eight of their past 13 games, including Monday despite Randle’s rough night. But his performances bear watching in the coming games to see how he handles the weight of his contentious few days with the fans.

“I think on a normal day it would affect anybody,” said veteran Taj Gibson, a Brooklyn native. “Going to a popular stadium, Madison Square Garden, one of the best places to play, one of the No. 1 fan bases in the world, you’re gonna have pressure. That’s why he chose to come here when a lot of people didn’t really want to take it. But he’s here.

“It comes with the game. You can ask Patrick Ewing. A lot of guys dealt with it. It’s part of New York. You play good, they’re gonna love you. You play bad, you’re gonna hear about it. But it’s just a chip on your shoulder, and you just gotta move on. Not many people can play here. You just gotta be tough about it.”

Thursday’s “shut the f–k up” line came a day after Randle insisted he didn’t “give a s–t” about outside criticism. The 1-2 punch landed him a $25,000 fine by the NBA for “egregious use of profane language,” about which Randle said he had no reaction.

Randle also declined to answer questions about where he hoped his relationship with the fans would go, whether management had spoken to him about the situation, or whether he was surprised by the backlash, continually saying he had already addressed it.

“My comment was an example of how sometimes you say things you regret to people you love, even if it came from a place of passion and deep love,” Randle wrote as part of his longer Instagram post.

On Wednesday, Randle will get his latest chance to earn that love back from the fans — as Baez did when he scored the winning run hours after apologizing for his own thumbs-down episode in August.

“You’re going to get great effort from Julius,” Thibodeau said. “I’ve seen him when everything is going his way, I’ve seen him when things aren’t going his way. He’s going to be the same guy. Put the work in and be ready to go.”