Getty New York Knicks star Julius Randle looks on during a bout with the Minnesota Tiberwolves.
The New York Knicks took a major step toward clinching their spot in the postseason on Wednesday night, outlasting the Miami Heat in a wild, 101-92 affair at Madison Square Garden. And they managed the W despite getting only 15 combined points from stars Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson.
In the latter’s case, there may have been some rust and/or lingering effects from not playing in a week due to right hand and wrist issues. Randle’s night, however, was ended quite suddenly early in the contest when he incurred an ankle injury.
Asked about the severity of the injury during his postgame media availability, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t have much to report.
“It’ll be evaluated tomorrow,” Thibodeau said. “It’s a sprain. So, that’s about the extent of it — we’ll see where he is tomorrow.”
Julius Randle’s Injury Just the Latest Issue Plaguing the Knicks Star
Randle hurt his ankle at the 2:40 mark of quarter No. 2 while attempting to corral an offensive rebound.
After a corner-three try from the hands of Immanuel Quickley clanged off the iron, the Knicks’ leading scorer and top glass-cleaner soared high to collect the basketball. On his way back down, however, he landed on the foot of Heat center Bam Adebayo, who was whistled for a foul on the play.
The 26-year-old fell to the hardwood upon making contact with his Miami counterpart and was in clear pain as he remained on the court. Once he found his feet, Randle tried to shake off the injury and even took his foul shots in an effort to remain eligible to play. After making one of the two and then heading back to the locker room for treatment, New York ultimately ruled out a return during the midway break.
Of course, this is just the latest thing to get Randle down as he and his team battle to maintain their momentum heading into the NBA Playoffs.
During New York’s recent loss to the Orlando Magic, Randle got into a fiery exchange with Quickley. And his frustrations have been bubbling to the surface with increased frequency of late, be it with his teammates, the officials or during his media availability. The baller had hoped the recent time off between games would quell some of the fire.
“I think we needed it all, honestly,” Randle said, via the New York Post. “It’s been a tough month with traveling and back-to-backs and that type of stuff. But we persevered through it. And got a little bit of a break and refocused and centered ourselves.
“There’s a balance with everything. I’m obsessive about the game and love the game — very driven and focused — but there’s a balance, too.”
RJ Barrett Saved By New Shoes
Former No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett was having a rough go during the first half against the Knicks, missing all eight of his field-goal attempts and logging a team-worst minus-10 in the plus/minus department. He was a different player on the back 24, however, scoring 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 2-of-2 from deep.
So, what changed for Barrett? Just his shoes, apparently.
“The first pair wasn’t giving me what I needed,” he told reporters when asked to confirm that new shoes were the secret to his success, via SNY’s Ian Begley. ” I went back to my good-luck shoes. You know Like Mike? I put my Like Mike shoes on… helped me a little bit in the second half.”