Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent is set to play in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals after missing Thursday’s 110-97 loss to the Boston Celtics with a left ankle injury, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Vincent sprained his left ankle in the fourth quarter of Miami’s Game 4 loss to Boston. He briefly returned to that game before resting the final 3:40 from a blowout. He was listed as questionable in Friday’s injury report.
Vincent, 26, wanted to play in Game 5, but the Heat took precautionary measures with a 3-1 series lead, sources said. Boston’s victory forced a Game 6 in Miami with the possibility of a Game 7 at home – and the chance of the Celtics becoming the first NBA team to come back and win after a 3-0 deficit – on Monday.
Vincent is averaging 17.5 points (on 58/50/94 separate shooting), 2.3 assists and two rebounds in 34.8 minutes per game in this series. The Heat have a better +34 against the Celtics with Vincent on the ground and a worse -25 with him on the bench. Veteran point guard Kyle Lowry started Game 5 in place of Vincent. Miami is team-worst -26 with Lowry in the field against Boston and team-best +35 without him.