South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Dragic out against Knicks with ankle sprain
Goran Dragic is the latest Miami Heat player to be sidelined with an injury.
Dragic was listed as out for their away game against the New York Knicks scheduled for a 1 p.m. tipoff on Sunday at Madison Square Garden due to an ankle injury he sustained in the Heat’s 122-95 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday.
The Slovenian guard sprained his left ankle during the third quarter of Friday’s matchup while guarding Russell Westbrook. He left the game after sustaining the injury, with his X rays returning negative.
Dragic recorded nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, four assists and three rebounds in 22 minutes against the Wizards before the injury.
Friday was his third game back on the floor after missing three consecutive games due to a strained left groin.
“I was trying to contain Westbrook and the leg just — I twisted my ankle,” Dragic said Saturday. “So it swelled up. It hurts right now, so I don’t know how bad it is.”
How long Dragic will be sidelined wasn’t clear as of Saturday afternoon.
The Heat will play the Knicks on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena before embarking on a seven-game, West-Coast road trip that starts against the Houston Rockets on Thursday and ends against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 22.
“We have made improvement. The thing we need more than anything is time together and that’s what that homestretch was,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the team’s six-game homestand that ended with a 2-4 record but saw the return of multiple players from injuries or being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
“That’s what that home stretch was. That was the first time in a long time where we’ve all been in the same meeting rooms, film rooms, practice rooms, shootaround rooms and walkthrough rooms. It’s needed.”
Dragic’s absence from Sunday’s matchup will be another hit to the Heat’s guard depth as they try to find continuity amid their 8-14 start to the season.