Josh Hart sprained his ankle during heroic playoff performance

CLEVELAND – The Knicks will likely be without their Game 1 hero.

Josh Hart, a big reason New York holds a 1-0 series lead over the Cavs, was listed as doubtful for Tuesday’s Game 2 because of a sprained left ankle.

Hart suffered the injury just before hitting a clutch shot Saturday, then noticeably limped out of his postgame press conference. The reserve guard was a limited participant in Monday’s practice and coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t making predictions about his Game 2 status.

“He did some [running]. It was pretty light,” Thibodeau said. “Just got mainly treatment. Did a little bit of what we were doing. But more mental today, just get treatment again tomorrow, see where he is.”

If Hart is unavailable, logic dictates that Miles McBride re-emerges in the nine-man rotation. It also means Quentin Grimes and RJ Barrett will have to pick up the slack.

Grimes and Hart alternate on guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player, which, in this series, is unquestionably Donovan Mitchell.

“I feel like I’ve been guarding the best player from the other team the whole season. So I feel like it’s just another night, for sure,” Grimes said. “Just the stakes are a little bit higher. I’m just going to come in a little more sharper probably just knowing that if [Hart] doesn’t play, I just have to be more alert at all times, whether I got Darius [Garland] or Donovan [Mitchell].”

Hart turned the ankle by landing awkwardly after a rebound attempt in Game 1 with 2:12 remaining, when the Cavs took their first lead since the opening quarter. On the following possession, Hart buried a stepback 3-pointer over Cedi Osman that gave the Knicks the advantage for good in their 101-97 win.

“Usually with sprains like that it’s more about how you feel the next day,” Thibodeau said.

Beyond that big moment, Hart helped secure the upset win by grabbing 10 rebounds — including five offensive — while scoring 17 points.

Hart appeared to injure his ankle on April 2 against the Wizards, but he stayed in the game after getting “retaped” in the locker room, the Knicks announced at the time. Hart was wearing tape on his left ankle during Game 1.

Of course, Hart’s status of ‘doubtful’ means he could still play.

“I know he’s a competitor, but we’ll just have to wait and see,” Jalen Brunson said.

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Source: Berkshire mont