The New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat 106-104 on Thursday at Madison Square Garden, following a dismal defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
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Julius Randle was the early star, and RJ Barrett did his thing with his second-half minutes restored, as the Knicks won a crucial game against a playoff-race opponent on Thursday night. Randle scored 19 of his 23 points in the first two quarters after being chosen as an All-Star reserve for the second time in three seasons. Barrett came off the bench earlier in the week and scored 20 of his 30 points after halftime. And the Knicks won a crucial 106-104 game over the Heat at Madison Square Garden.
Quentin Grimes added 17 points as the Knicks (28-25) moved one game behind the Heat for the sixth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, despite missing starting point guard and All-Star snub Jalen Brunson (non-COVID sickness). Barrett shot 13-for-23 in 41 efficient minutes after being benched for the last 6:41 of regulation and all of overtime in Tuesday’s defeat to the Lakers.
“Just come in and get ready the next day,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of Barrett before the game. “We know he’s a critical part of our team. We need him to play well. But we’re always going to put the team first and we thought the group that was out there gave us the best shot. Most of the times he’s finishing the game, so just get out there and play.”
Watch the match highlights below
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Miami won 17 of its previous 25 games, led by All-Star big Bam Adebayo’s 32 points and Tyler Herro’s 25. Randle, who is second in the NBA only to Luka Doncic in first-quarter points this season, had 12 in the first 12 minutes and 19 in the first half. The Knicks led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter, but the Heat closed the gap to 28-22 after the first quarter and seized the lead on Max Strus’ 3-pointer just four minutes later.
The Heat increased their lead to five points three minutes later on another Strus triple, but Randle’s successful three-point play put the Knicks ahead again in the last minute of the first half before his outlet slam from Quentin Grimes seconds later helped create a 51-48 advantage at halftime.
Barrett scored 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the third quarter, including nine in an 11-0 burst to start the second half, as the Knicks increased their lead to 14. But Herro hit three straight three-pointers in less than a minute, and Kyle Lowry added another, capping a 19-4 run for a 67-66 Heat lead with less than three minutes remaining.
With 1:41 remaining, Isaiah Hartenstein’s converted three-point play pulled the Knicks even again, before two free throws by Evan Fournier (back in the rotation with Brunson out) and consecutive corner treys by Deuce McBride (eight points) and Grimes gave the Knicks a 77-72 lead heading into the fourth period.
With 7:23 remaining, the Knicks led 92-81 thanks to a strong run by Barrett and the four-man second unit that included another 3-pointer by McBride, a lefty put-back by Barrett, and four points by Obi Toppin. At the 2:50 mark, Adebayo’s baseline jumper brought the Heat within two points, but Grimes’ left-side 3-pointer made it 100-95 one minute later.
A steal by Adebayo and two free throws after a harsh foul by Randle cut the deficit to 102-101 with 52.8 seconds remaining, but a beautiful passing play from Barrett to Grimes to Hartenstein for a slam restored the advantage to three. With five seconds remaining, Hartenstein intercepted a pass and Grimes feed Randle for another layup for a five-point lead.
The umpires first called Adebayo for a foul on Randle as he collected the inbounds pass after Strus sank another fast 3-pointer to make it 106-104 Knicks with 2.2 seconds left. The appeal by Miami coach Erik Spoelstra that Randle lost the ball without being fouled was upheld, but Herro’s 3-point effort from the corner bounced off the rim as time expired.
