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New York Knicks rule sixth man Immanuel Quickley and three-point specialist Evan Fournier out for win-or-go home game against the Miami Heat in just shortly before Game 5 tips off
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New York Knicks guard and sixth man Immanuel Quickley has been ruled out for tonight’s win-or-go home game against the Miami Heat in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup.
Quickley was ruled out with a sprained ankle after he was listed as doubtful yesterday and missed Game 4 with the injury.
Reserve shooting guard and three-point specialist Evan Fournier has also been ruled out for Game 5.
Despite falling out of the rotation early in the season Fournier would have been a viable candidate to fill in Quickley’s minutes.
It has also been noted that Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle have also been dealing with ankle injuries.
Immanuel Quickley has been ruled out for Game 5 against the Heat with a sprained left ankle
Evan Fournier has also been ruled out for the win-or-go home vs the Miami Heat with an illness
Brunson has been dealing with his ankle issue throughout the series and was listed as questionable heading into Game 2.
It was also noted that the issue was so severe some ‘some Heat players did not expect’ Brunson to take the court in Game 2.
He then ‘tweaked’ the ankle again in Game 3, and when asked about it, he simply said: ‘I’m all good; I’ll be ready for Game 4.’
Monday’s contest did not help matters as at one point Brunson landed on the foot of Heat guard Caleb Martin following a three-pointer and was visibly limping afterwards but remained in the game.
New York’s other star plater Julius Randle has also been playing through ‘ankle discomfort’ in the series.
The Knicks currently trail the series 3-1 and just suffered two tough losses in Miami after winning Game 2 of the series in New York.
Randle gave a blunt assessment of New York’s play after the game saying: ‘Maybe they want it more. I don’t know. That’s who we’ve been all year and we’ve gotta find a way to step up and make those plays if we want to keep this season alive’
It remains to be seen if Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau will adjust his rotation heading into the pivotal game to make life easier on his injured players, but that was far from the case in Game 4.
The Knicks starting two guards in Game 4, Brunson and shooting guard Quinton Grimes both played an astounding total of 44 and 42 minutes respectively.
New Yorks backup guards on the night Miles ‘Deuce’ McBride and Josh hart only played four minutes and 22 minutes respectively off the bench in the game.
Such a high total of minutes tends to be rough on any player but would seem especially tough on ones playing through injury such as Brunson.
Randle also played 39 total minutes despite also playing through pain while his backup, Obi Toppin only saw six minutes of action despite constantly looking impressive whenever he is allotted a decent amount of game time.
