Getty Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks drives the ball against Evan Mobley #4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
RJ Barrett scored 21 points for his third straight strong performance as the New York Knicks closed out the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 with a wire-to-wire 106-95 win on Wednesday night to advance to the second round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs.
But the victory was marred by Julius Randle re-aggravating his left ankle injury after landing on Caris LeVert’s foot with 1:17 left in the first half. Randle’s status for the second round is unclear as he limped out of the game and changed into street clothes in the second half.
“Man, [Josh] Hart has always been big there, and you know, Obi [Toppin] stepped up big time, especially at the beginning of the third [quarter] right there. So, he gave us some life,” Barrett told MSG Network’s Rebecca Haarlow when asked to comment on how they rallied around their fallen All-Star.
Hart had a quiet four points, but he grabbed 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, Toppin pumped in all his 12 points in the third quarter, picking up the slack for the injured Randle.
“And then you know, we have a deep team. Our whole team is good. And like I said, more basketball to come,” Barrett added.
Immanuel Quickley broke out with eight of his series-high 19 points in the fourth quarter.
Jalen Brunson, who finished with 23 points and four assists, calmed the Knicks down when the Cavaliers tried a last-ditch rally in the fourth quarter, cutting the 16-point deficit into six with 8:10 to go.
Mitchell Robinson dominated the Cavaliers’ frontline with a monster double-double (13 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks). Robinson had 11 offensive rebounds. The whole Cleveland team only had four.
It was that kind of collective effort which brought the fourth-seeded Cavaliers to their knees. The Knicks’ depth proved to be the key in winning their first playoff series for only the second time over the last two decades and for the first time since 2013.
YESSIR ‼️ Second round 🔜
Tom Thibodeau Hopes Julius Randle’s Injury Is Not Bad
New York coach Tom Thibodeau said Julius Randle will be re-examined on Thursday when they fly back home.
“It would be premature for me to comment until then,” Thibodeau said. “So, we’re hopeful that it’s, you know, not bad.”
Julius Randle reinjured his ankle and timeline to return will be dependent on severity
—Randle was dealing with a Grade I-II sprain
—This could create more stress to ligaments
—Biggest question is why he wasn’t wearing a brace to protect @Zamst_us
Randle missed 17 days when he first injured his left ankle on March 29 against the Miami Heat. He returned for Game 1, but he never regained his shooting touch.
Randle started strong in Game 4 with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting before re-aggravating his previous injury. He was 0-of-3 from deep and 8-of-34 in the entire series.
Tom Thibodeau Praises RJ Barrett
Barrett’s strong finish in the series silenced his critics.
He caught a lot of heat, especially from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, for his poor showing in the series’ first two games in Cleveland, where he shot a combined 6-of-25 from the field. But he clapped back with three solid games, averaging 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 55.8% from the field.
Thibodeau was effusive in his praise of his fourth-year wing.
“RJ is steady, Thibodeau told reporters after the game. “He’s gonna have a great game and never gonna get too high. He gonna have a tough game, and he’s not gonna get too low. He comes in every day, and you know what you’ll get. Every day is a fresh start. He’s gonna give you what he has. When he plays to his strengths, like he’s been doing, good things are gonna happen.”