Julius Randle twisted his ankle off Caris LeVert’s foot right before halftime in Cleveland on Wednesday night and did not return.
The New York Knicks have advanced to the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time in a decade.
On Wednesday night, the New York Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-95 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. The Knicks won the series 4-1 with an 11-point victory at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and their first postseason series win since 2013.
The Knicks have mostly dominated the Cavaliers after splitting the series’ first two games. They won Game 3 of the series by a score of 20 points and went on to win Game 4 by a score of nine points on Sunday.
The Knicks then dominated the game for most of the night on Wednesday. After a back-and-forth first half, the Knicks built a 10-point halftime lead behind 17 points from Jalen Brunson. While the Cavaliers temporarily trimmed it to six points in the fourth, the Knicks answered with a strong 10-2 run before easily winning by 11 points.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, but he only made 3 of 12 shots from beyond the line. Caris LeVert added 17 points, and Darius Garland added 21 points.
In their win, Brunson scored 23 points, which was the most for the Knicks. Immanuel Quickley scored 19 points off the bench, and R.J. Barrett added 21 points after making 7 of 13 shots.
Julius Randle hurts his ankle, and the Knicks lose him.
Despite the victory, the Knicks may be without Julius Randle for now.
Randle jumped up with fewer than 90 seconds remaining in the first half to contest a LeVert jump jumper near the free-throw line. Randle’s left ankle landed directly on LeVert’s foot as he came back down. Randle was brought to the court in discomfort after his ankle rolled forcefully.
He attempted to stand up at first but fell back down as play was halted. Randle ultimately walked off the floor alone but immediately proceeded to the locker room.
The Knicks initially labeled him as questionable to return for the second half, but he was subsequently seen in street clothes. Randle ended 16 minutes with 13 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. On Thursday, he will be assessed further.
Randle hurt his left ankle in March but recovered for Game 1 of the Cavaliers series. He sat out the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 102-93 victory in Game 4.
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