New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson plans to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with a broken right pinky finger, ESPN reported Friday.
Robinson, 28, has undergone surgery to repair the fracture and will wear a brace on his hand, per the report.
Video from Monday’s Eastern Conference finals-clinching win at Cleveland shows Robinson grabbing his right hand following a rebound attempt with 5:35 left in the third quarter. He continued to play until midway through the fourth quarter of the 130-93 Game 4 rout of the Cavaliers.
Game 1 of the Knicks’ first Finals appearance since 1999 will be Wednesday night against the winner of Saturday’s Game 7 between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals.
Robinson tallied eight points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes Monday as the Knicks completed their sweep and won their 11th consecutive game.
The backup to six-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, Robinson is averaging 5.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 14.2 minutes per game while shooting a league-leading 73.7% from the field (28 of 38) in 13 playoff games as a reserve. He has made only 13 of 43 free-throw attempts (30.2%).
During the regular season, Robinson averaged 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 19.6 minutes in 60 games (16 starts) and finished eighth in voting for NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
For his career, Robinson has averaged 7.5 points, 8.0 boards, 1.7 blocks and 23.4 minutes in 397 regular-season games (215 starts) with New York. The Knicks’ longest-tenured Knicks player was selected in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft out of Western Kentucky.
