All things considered yet securing a season finisher billet on Wednesday night, the New York Knicks will get a brief look at their potential first-round rival on Friday night.
They can only hope that Julius Randle will also be wearing a uniform.
As they attempt to officially secure a playoff spot on Friday night, when New York is scheduled to visit the Cleveland Cavaliers in a possible postseason preview, the Knicks may be without Randle.
After making their path to the playoffs much clearer on Wednesday night with a 101-92 victory over the visiting Miami Heat, the Knicks were off on Thursday. The Cavaliers haven’t played since Tuesday, when they lost to the host Atlanta Hawks 120-118, snapping a four-game winning streak.
The Knicks’ victory over the Heat reduced their magic number to one in order to secure a spot in the main playoff bracket and a top-six finish (44-33) in the playoffs. Despite winning the season series 3-1, New York is four games ahead of seventh-place Miami (40-37).
However, the victory may have been costly for the Knicks, who were without power forward Randle for the final 26 minutes after the player sprained his left ankle after landing on Heat forward Bam Adebayo’s foot. Near the end of the second quarter, Randle, who was fouled on the play, made one of two free throws before limping off the court.
Randle, who is averaging 25.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, will be reevaluated on Thursday, according to Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.
The Knicks are two and a half games behind the third-place Philadelphia 76ers and four games behind the fourth-place Cavaliers (48-29). Cleveland, which has already secured a spot in the main playoff bracket for the first time since 2018, will not fall below the no. 4 seed with a success on Friday.
On Tuesday, Donovan Mitchell nearly scored 44 points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter, to help Cleveland overcome a 10-point deficit and take three short-lived leads.
Before Mitchell’s desperate heave from just inside half-court bounced off the back rim, he missed a potential three-pointer that would have given the team the lead with 12 seconds left. He was one of four starters to play somewhere around 40 minutes for Cleveland, which was without Jarrett Allen (right crotch) and Isaac Okoro (left knee).
