Julius Randle suffers ankle injury in Knicks’ 101-92 victory over Miami Heat
The Knicks essentially clinched a playoff berth under unsettling circumstances.
All-Star Julius Randle sustained an ankle sprain in the first half, limping off the court before halftime and missing the Knicks surge past the Heat for a significant victory Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
The win pushed the No. 5 Knicks (44-33) four games ahead of the No. 7 Heat (40-37) with five to play. That race is essentially over. The magic number is one for Tom Thibodeau’s squad to secure a top-6 finish for an automatic postseason spot.
But Randle’s status is now in question.
“Any time a guy gets hurt, it’s tough. Especially Ju,” RJ Barrett said. “He’s an All-Star who has played every game so far. To see him hurt, it sucks. We wish him a speedy recovery. We were able to see him after the game. Just need some time to unpack what happened.”
With 2:38 remaining in the first half of a tie game, the power forward grabbed a rebound and landed on the foot of Heat center Bam Adebayo. Randle’s ankle turned and he fell in pain. He stood up to shoot the free throws — hitting 1-of-2 — and hobbled to the locker room.
Randle was ruled out at halftime, finishing with just three points in 15 minutes. He never returned to the bench. It represented his lowest scoring game since joining the Knicks.
Just two days prior, Randle sat at his locker room — right after finishing his 76th straight game to start the season — and told the Daily News about the important homestretch, “I’ve been building towards this. This is what I do. Everyday, it’s how I prepare.. I don’t have to psych myself up any more.”
Now there are questions about how many of the remaining five games Randle will play, if any. He’s been an Iron Man since joining the Knicks but the ankle sprain was serious enough for Randle to bend over in pain while walking off the court and through the tunnel.
Barrett took over most of the power forward minutes in the fourth quarter, finishing with 12 points in 34 minutes. Obi Toppin could also serve in a larger role without Randle. But the explosive power forward, who has regressed this season with fewer opportunities, logged only 17 minutes Wednesday.
Jericho Sims could also re-emerge into the rotation.
This is new territory since Randle is one of the few remaining players who hasn’t missed a game and is second in the NBA in total minutes.
“Injuries, they happen,” Thibodeau said. “And the thing that we have to understand is you don’t, when you have a guy who’s averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds and five assists and doing the things that he’s doing, you’re not replacing him with an individual player. But what we can do is we can play great defense, we can rebound the ball great, we can take care of the ball. We know if we do those three things great, we can be in position to win. So we gotta make up for him collectively.”
While one star went down for the Knicks on Wednesday, another returned. Jalen Brunson played with a brace after sitting the previous two games with a sprained hand. He struggled with 12 points in 30 minutes, sitting the entire fourth quarter as Quickley (24 points) took control.
At stake for the remaining schedule, with or without Randle, is staying above the No. 6 Nets (41-35). For many in the rotation, meaningful games in April are unchartered territory. Only Brunson has played more than five postseason games.
Josh Hart has played none.
“These games are fun,” Hart said. “Because if we were on a team that was tanking, I wouldn’t be playing. So I think it’s fun to play towards the end of the season, man. Like I said, I wasn’t normally out there the last couple of years, I wasn’t playing during this time. So it feels good.”
The victory felt good. But Randle’s pain overshadowed it.
“I don’t know the severity of it,” Quickley said. “I know it was bad just by the reaction when they showed the replay. But he was in good spirits when I talked to him.”
()