New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau revealed Julius Randle is still dealing with the ankle sprain he sustained last month.
Randle sat out the fourth quarter, scoring only seven points from 27 minutes on three-of-10 shooting, as the Knicks won 102-93 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday to go 3-1 up in their first-round playoffs series.
The Knicks power forward sprained his ankle on March 29 against the Miami Heat and missed the final fortnight of the regular season, before returning for this series, but is still finding his rhythm according to Thibodeau.
"The thing is, he had to work around the clock to get back," Thibodeau said. "That's what I love about Julius. He gives you everything that he has.
"There's 77 games, he sprains his ankle and then he works like crazy to get back, you know how important he is to the team, but to get back, to get ready to play - our medical people did a great job, but that's all him.
"He was working around the clock on that, he still is. That's the challenge that we have and that's what I respect about him. And we just got to get ready for our next game."
Randle is averaging 14.8, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists during the four games in the series, with the next game on Wednesday in Cleveland.
"Julius is our horse," Thibodeau added. "He's given us everything that he has. A lot of guys probably wouldn't even be playing, so I knew that with the quick turnaround, probably impact him more than most players.
"He was out an extended amount of time. So we got multiple days here before the next game, he'll get a chance to get some recovery time."
Jalen Brunson, who insisted the series was "not over", scored a game-high 29 points, making five-of-nine triples with six rebounds and six assists for the Knicks, while R.J. Barrett added 26 points.
Cavs' All-Star Donovan Mitchell was kept to 11 points on five-of-18 shooting, while Darius Garland tried hard with 23 points and 10 assists.
"This is not over with," Mitchell said. "The way we lost sucks. We can't hang our heads and ultimately give up. We're not that type of group. Like I said, we'll be ready for Game 5."
Kings extend head coach Brown through 2026-27
The Sacramento Kings and head coach Mike Brown have agreed to a contract extension through 2026-27.
According to multiple reports, the deal is worth $30 million with Brown’s base salary to be $8.5 million annually. He will have the opportunity to earn $10 million per year with bonuses.
In his first year with the Kings a season ago, Brown led the team to a 48-34 record and its first playoff appearance in 16 years. He was named 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year.
Sacramento went 46-36 this past season and beat Golden State in its first game before losing a play-in game for the eighth seed to New Orleans.
Brown and Rick Adelman are the only Kings coaches to lead the team to a winning record in any season since the franchise moved to Sacramento in 1985.
Brown has a 441-226 record as head coach with Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento.
'It was Luka magic mode', Kidd revels as Doncic-inspired Mavs reach NBA Finals
Luka Doncic was in "magic mode" after his starring role helped the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA Finals since 2011, coach Jason Kidd said.
The Mavs and the Boston Celtics will battle it out for this season's NBA championship after Dallas wrapped up a 4-1 Western Conference finals series victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A 124-103 win did the trick at Target Center on Thursday, with Doncic and Kyrie Irving leading the way for the Mavs with 36 points apiece.
Doncic was quick out of the blocks, scoring 20 of his points during the first half on the way to notching up his highest-scoring contributions of the postseason, with his performances earning the Western Conference finals MVP award.
"It was Luka magic mode," Kidd said. "He set the tone, and then he made it easier for everyone else. Everybody else stepped up."
"You're just watching a special performance take place," Irving added. "When Luka starts off a game like that, we're a tough team to beat."
Indeed, they are. The Mavs are 7-2 on the road during the playoffs - winning the last five - matching the franchise record for such victories during a single postseason, set in their title-winning campaign of 2010-11.
A EuroBasket champion with Slovenia and EuroLeague winner during his final season with Real Madrid, Doncic is now gearing up for his first crack at an NBA title, with the Finals series commencing on June 6.
And he insists his team-mates cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
"It was a very hard road, very hard," Doncic said. "But we're not done. We have four more [victories to achieve]."
'It was Luka magic mode', Kidd revels as Doncic-inspired Mavs reach NBA final
Luka Doncic was in "magic mode" after his starring role helped the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA finals since 2011, coach Jason Kidd said.
The Mavs and the Boston Celtics will contest this season's NBA championship after wrapping up a 4-1 Western Conference series victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A 124-103 win did the trick at Target Center, where Donic and Kyrie Irving led the way for Dallas with 36 points apiece.
Doncic was quick out of the blocks, scoring 20 of his points during the first half on the way to notching up his highest-scoring contributions of the postseason, with his performances earning the Western Conference finals MVP award.
"It was Luka magic mode," Kidd said. "He set the tone, and then he made it easier for everyone else. Everybody else stepped up."
"You're just watching a special performance take place," Irving added. "When Luka starts off a game like that, we're a tough team to beat."
Indeed, they are. The Mavs are 7-2 on the road during the playoffs - winning the last five - matching the franchise record for such victories during a single postseason, set in their title-winning campaign of 2010-11.
A EuroBasket champion with Slovenia and EuroLeague winner during his final season with Real Madrid, Doncic is now gearing up for his first crack at an NBA title, with the Finals series commencing on June 6.
And he insists his team-mates cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
"It was a very hard road, very hard," Doncic said "But we're not done. We have four more [victories to achieve]."
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