PARIS -- What seemed to be a four-man battle for the Heat's starting point guard job is down to a two-man race. For now.

Injuries left the Heat with just two available point guards for Tuesday's practice at Bercy Arena in preparation for Thursday's preseason game against the New Jersey Nets.

Chris Quinn and Shaun Livingston missed the two-hour workout and will likely sit out the first of Miami's two exhibition games in Europe. The Heat plays the Nets again on Sunday in London as part of the NBA's Europe Live Tour.

Quinn sprained his left ankle late in Sunday's overtime loss to Detroit in the preseason opener. The Heat continues to take a cautious approach with Livingston, who is in the final stages of recovering from a devastating injury to his left knee that has sidelined him the past 20 months.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Tuesday's practice that Quinn and Livingston experienced some swelling during the team's eight-hour flight from Miami that landed in Paris at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

''Everything's minor right now,'' Spoelstra said. ``That flight kind of swelled things up slightly. They both could have moved around better if we were in Miami. We'll see how [they] are feeling tomorrow.''

Quinn, the likely front-runner for the starting job, received treatment on the ankle before and after Tuesday's practice and is scheduled to receive more treatment Wednesday.

''We don't have a great sense of urgency to play him in this next game,'' Spoelstra said. ``But I see him coming back at some point this trip.''

For now, the bulk of the workload falls on veteran backup Marcus Banks and rookie Mario Chalmers. Both spent time with the first-team offense in the two-hour session.

Spoelstra said he opened the practice by challenging Chalmers to take advantage of the extra work. Chalmers is looking to improve on Sunday's performance, when he had four points, four turnovers, three assists and five fouls in 24 minutes.

''I think this is the perfect opportunity for me,'' Chalmers said after practice. ``I'm just getting more reps and more comfortable. It's a chance for me to catch up on guys who have been in the league longer.''

Elsewhere on the Heat injury front, Udonis Haslem completed his third consecutive practice but said his sprained left ankle still isn't ready for game action. Forward James Jones is still out with a wrist injury.

But Dorell Wright, who is recovering from season-ending knee surgery, went through the entire workout. Spoelstra said Wright needs to strengthen the muscles around his surgically repaired left knee.

''He can do everything right now, but it's a matter of getting the girth of his leg matching his other leg,'' Spoelstra said. ``He's close. We just have to continue to be patient.''

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