On Wednesday, the Miami Heat will travel to New York to take on the Knicks in a game between two Eastern Conference teams hoping to avoid the Play-In round of the playoffs.
Latest news on Julius Randle, Jimmy Butler and Jalen Brunson
On Wednesday night, either the New York Knicks or the Miami Heat will have a blast while making life a living hell for the other team.
Both the Knicks and the Heat will be playing for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference when they face off in New York for the final time this season.
Both teams may be missing key players for this match of utmost importance.
With a sprained right hand, Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson missed his second straight game on Monday and is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game. If Brunson can’t go, 26-year-old guard Immanuel Quickley will keep his starting job.
The Knicks were off on Tuesday after a dominating 137-115 victory over the visiting Rockets on Monday night.
Julius Randle had 26 points (10-19 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 3-3 FT), four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 28 minutes of action.
Randle is still a scoring machine despite a decline in his rebounding in recent games.
In March, he played 13 games and put up 27.0 ppg along with 7.7 rpg, 4.3 apg, and 3.2 threes. He only had three games where he scored under 20 points.
New York (43-33) has won four in a row and is now three games up on eighth-place Miami and two and a half up on sixth-place Brooklyn after both teams lost (40-35). (40-36).
Having the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Heat would greatly improve the Knicks’ chances of making the playoffs, should they win on Wednesday. The season series is tied, 2-1, with New York holding the advantage.
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The last two games had playoff-like atmospheres, but the Heat struggled in both. The visiting Nets beat Miami 129-100 on Saturday, and the Toronto Raptors pulled away from the Heat on Tuesday.
Jimmy Butler, who averages 22.8 points per game for the Heat, has been out since Tuesday due to a neck injury. Max Strus or Caleb Martin might have to step into his starting role if he is unable to play.
Heat injuries:
- Jimmy Butler (Neck) – Questionable
- Nikola Jovic (Back) – Out
Knicks injuries:
- Jalen Brunson (Hand) – Questionable
- Derrick Rose (Illness) – Questionable
- Duane Washington Jr. (Hip) – Out
- DaQuan Jeffries (Calf) – Out
