BOSTON — Already down two guards due to injuries sustained earlier this postseason, the Miami Heat on Thursday morning ruled out point guard Gabe Vincent for Thursday night’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.
Vincent turned his left ankle in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s Heat loss in Game 4 of the series, exited briefly to the locker room, then returned for the finish of that game at Kaseya Center.
Having moved into the starting lineup at midseason when veteran guard Kyle Lowry missed more than a month due to knee pain, Vincent solidified the role with solid play both at the end of the regular season and during the playoffs.
Vincent is averaging 17.5 points a game during the Eastern Conference finals. He also is shooting 58% from the field (22 of 38) in the series against the Celtics and 50% from 3-point range (11 of 22).
The Heat already are without guards Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo.
The absences of Vincent, Herro and Oladipo leaves Lowry as the lone true guard in the Heat playoff rotation, with Max Strus, Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson also available to take minutes at the position.
Herro broke his right hand in the Heat’s playoff opener and just this week was cleared to return to non-contact basketball activity.
Oladipo was injured during the Heat’s opening-round victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, now out for months following surgery for a torn patellar tendon in his left knee.
For Vincent, it is a delicate period, due to become an unrestricted free agent in July.
