GAME PREVIEW: Heat continue road trip in an important bout against Knicks

The Miami Heat, winners of five of their last seven and 18 of their last 27, will continue their four-game road trip in a game against the New York Knicks on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Heat picked up a crucial road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday 100-97, moving to 1.5 games behind the Cavs for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference standings. The Knicks, meanwhile, currently sit two games behind the 6th-seeded Heat.

New York’s also lost six of their last eight, including a 129-123 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, despite Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle combining for 60 points, albeit on middling efficiency.

Miami picking up a win on Thursday would put them seven games above .500 for the first time all season. The Heat are 12-14 (1.4 NET Rating) on the road this season while New York is 12-14 (1.6 NET RTG) at home. Miami will also presumably have its preferred starting lineup — Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin and Bam Adebayo — for the 21st time (they’re 10-10 in all games the quintet’s started this season).

INACTIVE/INJURIES:

MIAMI:

• Jamal Cain (G-League) — OUT
• Nikola Jovic (back) — OUT
• Victor Oladipo (ankle) — DOUBTFUL
• Orlando Robinson (thumb) — OUT
• Duncan Robinson (finger) — OUT
• Gabe Vincent (ankle) — QUESTIONABLE
• Omer Yurtseven (ankle) — OUT

KNICKS:

• DaQuan Jeffries (G-League) — OUT
• Trevor Keels (G-League) — OUT
• Mitchell Robinson (thumb) — OUT

PROJECTED STARTING 5:

BROADCAST INFO:

Tipoff: 7:30 PM EST

TV: Bally Sports Sun, NBA League Pass

RADIO: WQAM 560 & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)

SPANISH RADIO: WAQI 710AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda)

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