Hassan Whiteside ruled out of Game 4 against Raptors

Miami centre Hassan Whiteside will miss Game 4 against the Toronto Raptors due to a knee injury, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday.

Toronto leads the series two games to one heading into Monday's matchup (8 p.m. ET).

Whiteside suffered a sprained MCL in Game 3 and left the game in the second quarter. He is listed as day-to-day. 

However, Whiteside could miss more time as Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry also suffered a Grade 1 MCL sprain but hasn't played since April 24. General recovery time is typically two weeks, but it depends on the severity of the sprain. 

"It's a non-surgery option, which I think is obviously the best option," Spoelstra said after Miami's shootaround on Monday.

Whiteside led the NBA in blocked shots this season, averaging 3.7 per game on his way to finishing third in the voting for defensive player of the year. He averaged 14.2 points and 11.8 rebounds in the regular season on 61 per cent shooting, then 12 points and 10.9 rebounds in the playoffs on 68 per cent shooting.

The Heat will now have to turn to Amar'e Stoudemire, Josh McRoberts and Udonis Haslem to fill the void left by the 7-foot Whiteside. The trio combined for 12 points in 39 minutes in Game 3. 

The Raptors will also be without their top centre, Jonas Valanciunas, who sprained his ankle in Game 3. He has been ruled out for the remainder of the series. 

"I have faith in my teammates and they're doing a great job, I think, and I'm going to be cheering," said Valanciunas, who appeared at his team's shootaround in a walking boot. "I'm going to be doing everything I can do to support them. Hopefully, they're going to win this series — and next series, I'll be helping them."