Heat beats Knicks to take 3-1 lead in playoff series
A Heat team that teetered on the brink of an ignominious postseason exit — down five late in an elimination play-in game against Chicago — now stands one win from its third Eastern Conference finals appearance in four years.
It’s a remarkable story, and the latest chapter — a 109-101 Heat win on Monday night at Kaseya Center — showcased the usual ingredients (excellence from Jimmy Butler, a spark from the Heat’s bench, timely shooting) and left Miami with a commanding 3-1 lead against the Knicks in this second-round playoff series.
Butler scored 27 and added 10 assists, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Bam Adebayo had his best offensive half of the postseason, scoring 16 before intermission and finishing with 23 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.
Two big keys: The Knicks — after a sizzling third quarter — shot just 6 for 18 from the field in the fourth, and the Heat pounded the Knicks on the boards in that final quarter, 17-8. The Heat had seven offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, repeatedly keeping possessions alive.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra “has been making a big emphasis of [being] first to the basketball,” Adebayo said. “Last couple games, I feel we’ve been doing that.”
The Heat can close out the series with a win in Game 5 at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night in New York, on TNT.
“We’re playing our best basketball at the most important time of the year,” Max Strus said.
If Miami wins Wednesday, the Heat won’t play another home game for nearly two weeks.
Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, which the Heat would host if it advances, will be played Sunday, May 21. Boston and Philadelphia are tied 2-2 in the other Eastern Conference semifinal.
Stop if you’ve heard this before: With his team needing a lift, Butler rose to the moment. The Knicks opened the third quarter making 10 of 12 shots, but Butler kept the Heat ahead, scoring Miami’s first seven points of the third and 11 overall in the quarter and assisting on five other baskets.
Then, in the fourth, after the Knicks closed to within six, Butler rebounded a miss and hit a layup, then blocked an RJ Barrett shot, then hit another basket with under three minutes left. New York never drew closer than four in the closing minutes.
The Knicks double-teamed Butler at times, and Adebayo seized on that early, taking a team-high 11 shots in the first half and making seven of them.
Butler read the game well, as he usually does, taking just six shots in a nine-point first half and making nifty dishes to Adebayo and Strus for dunks, among his 10 assists on the night. “I actually love being double-teamed because that just means one of my teammates is open,” Butler said.
But Butler looked for his shot more the second half, when his team needed it. He closed 9 of 17 from the field (with 11 of those attempts after halftime) and 8 for 9 from the line.
Strus — coming off 17- and 19-point games — had another good night, scoring 16 points, including two important third-quarter threes to blunt Knicks momentum. He added six rebounds.
Kyle Lowry was again very good off the bench, with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and no turnovers. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau reiterated after the game that Lowry has been a real problem for the Knicks in this series.
Caleb Martin (10 points, five rebounds) had an electrifying drive and dunk to push the Heat’s lead to 101-93 with four minutes left in the game.
Gabe Vincent had five assists and no turnovers.
And what’s a Heat playoff game without a Kevin Love touchdown pass? Monday’s came off an in-bounds pass, when he threw 75-plus feet to Butler for a dunk.
The Heat shot 47 percent from the field and 33 percent on threes. The Knicks shot 48.7 percent from the field but hit just 9 of 28 threes and shot just 33 percent overall in the fourth.
Miami had four more threes than New York (13-9) and had nine more rebounds (44-35) – no small feat after being torched on the boards in the first two games of the series. The Heat outscored the Knicks, 17-7, on second-chance points.
And Heat reserves outscored the Knicks’ bench 32-10.
But it all started with Butler and Adebayo.
“They’re top of the food chain in terms of two way competitors,” Spoelstra said. “They can put their fingerprints on playoff games, on any given possession defensively or offensively. They’ve played in a lot of playoff games together. They’re doing all the dirty work and the glamorous work too. That’s what required.”
Julius Randle (20 points, nine rebounds), Jalen Brunson (32 points, 11 assists) and Barrett (24 points) played much better after New York mustered just 86 points and shot 34 percent in a 19-point loss in Game 3.
But Randle fouled out with three minutes left, after committing his sixth turnover.
The Knicks never led except for 33 seconds late in the first quarter.
New York, playing without bench sparkplug Immanuel Quickley (sprained ankle), made two lineup changes, inserting Miles McBride briefly to replace Quickley and moving Quentin Grimes to the starting lineup and Josh Hart to the bench. None had a significant impact on the outcome.
The Knicks, who entered shooting 42 percent in the series, got off to a better start, opening 10 of 15 from the field. But they still trailed 31-30 after a quarter because of five turnovers and shaky defense. Adebayo found a groove, with nine first quarter points.
For the second consecutive game, Spoelstra went with an all-backup lineup to start the second quarter, and that group again built on a lead. In Game 3, that troika went on a 15-4 run. On Monday, the Heat reserves outscored the Knicks by three in three minutes before Adebayo returned.
Adebayo kept making shots, going to the half with 16 points (7 for 11 shooting) and seven boards. Meanwhile, the Knicks started missing, shooting 6 for 21 in the second quarter, and the Heat went to the half leading 56-48.
New York shot 13 for 17 in the third but never drew closer than two in the quarter.
And the Heat — which shot 12 for 21 in the third - stretched its lead from eight at halftime to nine (90-81) after three, thanks to big threes from Strus and Martin after New York closed to within four.
Both teams started cold in the fourth, New York opening 3 for 12 and Miami 3 for 15.
The Knicks missed several open looks and the Heat stretched its lead to 10 with just over five minutes to go. And Miami’s rebounding prowess in the fourth made a big difference.
“By the fourth quarter, it was a total grind,” Spoelstra said. “We got the necessary stops. We had a bunch of clean looks in the fourth quarter and couldn’t knock them down. But we got those extra possessions, which certainly helped.”
This story was originally published May 8, 2023 at 10:01 PM.
