Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson both active for Knicks in Game 2 ...
![Julius Randle Jalen Brunson both active for Knicks in Game 2](/thumb/phpThumb.php?src=%2Fuploads%2Fnews%2F42%2F4238%2F1%2F4238174-julius-randle-jalen-brunson-both-active-for-knicks-in-game-2.jpg&w=706&hash=82947d255756d295f36503d66505187e)
All hands were back on deck for the Knicks for a pivotal Game 2 against the Heat.
Leading scorers Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson both were in the starting lineup after they’d been listed as questionable with ankle injuries.
The Heat were without star forward Jimmy Butler, also with a sprained right ankle, after Randle had missed the Knicks’ series-opening loss on Sunday.
“If they need to come out, they’ll come out,” Tom Thibodeau said before the game when asked if there’d be a minutes restriction on either player. “We’ll have a guideline for what we want to do.”
Brunson had said following the Game 1 defeat that “this one’s on me,” while describing his play as “horrific.” He finished with 25 points on 11-for-23 shooting overall, but he missed all seven of his 3-point attempts and committed five of the Knicks’ 13 turnovers.
Randle re-injured the ankle that sidelined him for the final five games of the regular season in Game 5 of the first round against the Cavaliers.
![Jalen Brunson (11) will play for the Knicks against the Heat in Game 2.](/thumb/phpThumb.php?src=https%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2023%2F05%2FNYPICHPDPICT000010401315.jpg%3Fw%3D1024&w=728&hash=fabddc47d249b45626245710ae28c7be)
Both players tested their respective injuries in warm-ups before the Knicks announced their availability about a half-hour before tipoff.
Earlier Tuesday, Knicks guard Josh Hart had said that he expected Brunson — his former Villanova teammate — would push to play after an admittedly poor performance in Game 1.
“Hey man, if Jalen can, Jalen’s going to [play],” Hart said Tuesday morning at the team’s practice facility in Tarrytown. “I talked to him a little bit [Monday]. I haven’t talked to him today much, but he’s someone who is a warrior. He battles through injuries all the time. He just has to make sure he’s able to be out there perfect.”
Hart made his fourth consecutive start in place of Quentin Grimes, who played 10 minutes off the bench in Game 1 after missing the final two games of the first round against the Cavaliers with a shoulder injury.
“We’ll see how the game unfolds,” Thibodeau said. “I like [Grimes’] defense and obviously the shooting piece of it.”
![Julius Randle, who missed Game 1 with an injury, will play for the Knicks against the Heat in Game 2.](/thumb/phpThumb.php?src=https%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2023%2F05%2FNYPICHPDPICT000010400660.jpg%3Fw%3D893&w=728&hash=e34f4523a225c783c1e4e10dbdd9b01d)
Brunson received one fifth-place vote for league MVP and tied for 12th in the balloting.