Julius Randle sprained his ankle in the first half of Game 5, is doubtful to return

The Knicks were playing some of their best ball of the series in the first half of Game 5 as they look to close out their first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, nothing is ever easy with this franchise. All-Star forward Julius Randle went down late in the second quarter after stepping on the foot of Caris LeVert. He sat for a few minutes, in obvious pain, and limped off to the locker room.

At halftime, the team announced he is doubtful to return.

It is an incredible blow for the Knicks. Julius has mostly been rough — at least offensively — throughout this series, but he really came to life in the first half. He was bullying the Cavs’ bigs for bucket after bucket at the rim on his way to 13 points.

As for now, I suppose Obi Toppin will start the second half at power forward. Can the Knicks overcome this hurdle? We’ll see soon enough.