Heat remains in first place in East with blowout win over Knicks. Takeaways from the victory
The Miami Heat isn’t ready to let go of the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Three days after moving into sole possession of first place in the East, the Heat (31-17) ensured it will stay there for at least a few more days with a 110-96 victory over the New York Knicks (23-26) on Wednesday night at FTX Arena. The Heat is one-half game ahead of the second-place Chicago Bulls and 1.5 games ahead of the third-place Cleveland Cavaliers.
Miami, which has won 17 of its past 23 games, improved to 17-5 at home this season.
“We did, I thought, a good job of just sharing the ball, sharing the game and just making the right plays pretty consistently,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Then the guys were enjoying each other’s success during that.”
The Heat was in control from start to finish, as the Knicks never held a lead in the game.
The Heat set the tone early, opening the night with a 13-2 run on its way to ending the first quarter with a 30-16 lead. Miami carried a double-digit lead throughout the entire second half, as it pulled ahead by as many as 30 points.
Four Heat players finished with at least 20 points.
Duncan Robinson totaled 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting from three-point range.
Jimmy Butler finished with 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 shooting from the foul line, six rebounds and five assists.
Tyler Herro scored 21 points off the bench in his return from COVID-19 protocols.
P.J. Tucker contributed 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting on threes.
With those four serving as catalysts, the Heat shot 50 percent from the field, 16 of 37 (43.2 percent) from three-point range and 20 of 22 (90.9 percent) from the foul line.
Heat center Bam Adebayo scored only six points, but recorded eight rebounds and tied a career-high with 11 assists.
“We have a common goal and it starts at the top with Jimmy,” Tucker said. “I think he’s one of the most unselfish superstars in the NBA. It’s unbelievable. He literally tells me games he doesn’t want to score. That’s his mindset and he still will play defense and do all the other great things he does. He’s super unselfish.”
The Heat again played without starting point guard Kyle Lowry, who missed his fifth straight game on Wednesday because of personal reasons. Miami was also without Markieff Morris (return to competition reconditioning), KZ Okpala (wrist sprain) and Victor Oladipo (knee injury recovery).
The Heat continues its four-game homestand on Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers. Miami is 2-0 during the homestand.
Here are five takeaways from the Heat’s win over the Knicks:
The Heat’s three-point shooting continues to be a strength. Robinson and Tucker led the three-point effort against the Knicks.
The Heat entered with the NBA’s second-best team three-point percentage, hitting 37.6 percent of its threes this season. That number only improved on Wednesday, when Miami shot 16 of 37 (43.2 percent) from deep against New York.
The Heat is 18-1 when shooting at least 40 percent from three-point range this season.
Miami has been one of the league’s best outside shooting team throughout the season, but it has been on another level for the last two months. The Heat is shooting an NBA-best 39.8 percent from three-point range in 27 games since the start of December.
On Wednesday, Robinson and Tucker combined to shoot 11 of 17 (64.7 percent) on threes.
“That’s what he’s here for is to create that space, create triggers for us, create overreactions,” Spoelstra said of Robinson. “He has been able to do that consistently all year long.”
Of Tucker, Spoelstra said: “He’s one of the best historic three-point corner shooters in this league. But with us, he brings so much more to our offense with playmaking and the second situations that he has a great feel for.”
Robinson, who has dealt with a few shooting slumps this season, is in the middle of his best stretch of the season. He has shot 23 of 45 (51.1 percent) from three-point range over the last five games.
Robinson has made 40.3 percent of his threes since the start of December. He shot just 32.8 percent from beyond the arc before that point over the first 21 games of the season.
But Tucker has been shooting this well pretty much all season. Among those who are attempting at least two threes per game, Tucker is shooting an NBA-best 46.9 percent from three-point range this season.
“I don’t check any of that stuff. I don’t like to hear it. I just like to play,” Tucker said when told his three-point percentage.
Tucker’s previous career-best mark on threes was 38.7 percent in 2013-14 as a member of the Phoenix Suns.
The Knicks have featured one of the NBA’s worst offenses and the Heat has featured one of the NBA’s best defenses this season. So it went as expected.
The Heat limited the Knicks to 96 points on 42.2 percent shooting. Miami also capitalized on 18 turnovers from New York to score 21 points.
The Knicks scored just 16 points in the first quarter and 21 points in the third quarter.
“They switch with Bam, forcing us to kind of kill our rhythm,” Knicks wing Evan Fournier said. “We did not play that well offensively. We did not take advantage of the switch. Kind of took us away from ball movement.”
New York, which owns the league’s seventh-worst offensive rating, has now scored fewer than 100 points in four of its last six games.
The Heat holds the league’s seventh-best defensive rating, allowing 107.5 points per 100 possessions. But when both Adebayo and Butler are available, Miami’s defense has been even better with a defensive rating of 101.4 points allowed per 100 possessions.
Herro, who missed the previous three games while in COVID-19 protocols, picked up right where he left off.
Herro scored 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting on threes, to go with six rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes off the bench in his return on Wednesday. He has scored more than 15 mores in 11 straight appearances.
“He was right in rhythm,” Spoelstra said of Herro. “He has felt good for the last few days. Not in our building, but I have a sense that he was working somewhere. League, don’t come after me on that. But he gives us obviously a different dimension.”
Herro, who is the NBA’s leading bench scorer with 20.8 points per game as a reserve this season, was cleared from protocols earlier this week after testing positive for COVID-19.
“It felt great to come back,” Herro said. “Just being out there with my teammates and coaches, it was amazing. My wind was alright. I think I need to get back with [Heat strength and conditioning coach Eric Foran] and do some sprints.”
Aside from Herro, the Heat did not get much production from its bench against the Knicks. Besides Herro’s 21 points, Miami’s reserves combined to score only eight points on 2-of-16 (12.5 percent) shooting, including a scoreless night from Max Strus on 0-of-8 shooting.
A rested Heat team has been tough to beat this season.
The Heat improved to 10-0 this season when playing a game coming off of two or more days of rest. In comparison, Miami is 2-5 on the second night of back-to-backs and 19-12 with one day of rest.
The Heat plays eight more games this season after two or more days off.
Also, the Knicks haven’t won in Miami in awhile. New York’s last win in Miami came during the 2016-17 season, as the Heat has won six straight home games against the Knicks — the longest home streak against New York in Heat history.
The only remaining player on either team from the last time the Knicks won in Miami is Heat forward Udonis Haslem.
Opposing head coaches like Doc Rivers, Chauncey Billups, Monty Williams and Nate McMillan have praised the Heat in recent weeks. Add New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau to that list.
Prior to Wednesday’s game, Thibodeau complimented the Heat roster. The Heat is one of only four teams with both a top-10 offense and top-10 defense, along with the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks.
“It starts when you look at a Jimmy, a Bam, a Kyle, it starts with them,” Thibodeau said. “Then they’re surrounded by really tough, fierce competitors. They surrounded them with great shooting, there’s a fierceness to them. They’re strong on both sides of the ball. So when they do have somebody out, they still can win with their defense, their rebounding and all the things they do as a group.”
Of Adebayo, Thibodeau said: “He’s a modern-day center in terms of he can play away from the basket, he can play in the post, he can put pressure on the rim with dynamic rolls. But he can also handle the ball, play away from the basket, get into dribble handoffs. They play off him a lot as a hub and they also play off Jimmy as a hub. Bam’s skill set is very unique for that position.”
Thibodeau is familiar with the Heat’s other star, as he was Butler’s head coach with the Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves.
“He has gotten better every year in the league,” Thibodeau said of Butler. “The thing that has always been special about him is his toughness and his competitiveness. So when you add that with the way he sees the game, with the way he processes things. He can beat you with the pass, he can beat you off the dribble, he gets to the line, he plays for the team. If he wanted to, he could score 30 points a night. But he’s going to spray the ball, he’s going to make good decisions with it. He’s going to make tough plays. He can guard all five positions. Those types of guys, they’re winners.”
This story was originally published January 26, 2022 at 10:07 PM.
