Knicks grind out win over Heat to even series at a game apiece
An NBA playoff series often experiences various twists and turns, but rarely do the twists and turns of a few ankles loom so large over a single postseason game.
Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson both shook off ankle injuries to suit up Tuesday night for the Knicks, while Game 1 star Jimmy Butler was unable to go for the Heat.
The Knicks staged a frantic fourth-quarter comeback to avoid a daunting 0-2 hole, pulling out a gritty 111-105 win over the undermanned Heat at a super-charged Madison Square Garden. The knotted second-round series will shift to Miami for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.
Brunson started slowly after a self-proclaimed “horrific” Game 1 to score 23 of his 30 points in the second half, and Randle recorded 25 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists after sitting out the series-opening loss on Sunday.
RJ Barrett added 24 points, and heartbeat guard Josh Hart nearly recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Knicks, including two massive 3-pointers in the closing minutes.
Without Butler, Caleb Martin scored 22 points and Gabe Vincent had 21 for the Heat. Max Strus added 17 before limping off with another ankle injury in the third quarter.
Jalen Brunson, who scored 30 points, drives on Duncan Robinson during the Knicks’ 111-105 Game 2 win over the Heat. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Knicks trailed by six with 7:06 remaining in regulation, but Brunson sandwiched a corner 3 and a step-back jumper around an Isaiah Hartenstein free throw for a 93-93 tie midway through the quarter. Hart’s corner 3 forged another tie with 4:45 left, and Brunson rattled one in from long range for a 99-96 lead 40 seconds later.
With the crowd chanting for “de-fense,” the Knicks forced the Heat into a 24-second violation, before Brunson dropped in a floater at the other end for a five-point lead.
After the Heat climbed back within one again, Hart drilled another trey from the right corner before Randle sank two free throws for a 106-100 game with 1:01 to play.
Josh Hart points to his arm after making a fist after hitting a shot during the third quarter of the Knicks’ win. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Knicks had missed 27 of 34 3-point attempts in Game 1, notably including an 0-for-7 showing by Brunson. But they came out firing Tuesday night, with Brunson knocking down his first long-range shot and Barrett nailing two in the opening minutes and three overall in the first quarter.
Randle also drained a trey late in the quarter and scored 10 in the first 11 minutes, while Barrett continued pumping in points and finished the period with 16, as the Knicks grabbed a 31-29 lead through one.
Tom Thibodeau mixed up his early playing rotation with Randle and Brunson coming off injuries, playing Barrett the first 15 minutes.
Julius Randle shoots a jumper over Gabe Vincent during the Knicks’ victory. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Mitchell Robinson drew two early fouls and was pulled 2:30 into the game, but he snared an offensive rebound and threw down a put-back slam early in the second. Hart followed a weaving coast-to-coast bucket after stripping Haywood Highsmith, but Duncan Robinson responded with a pair of 3-pointers for a 43-37 Miami lead.
Martin added another trey to push the cushion to eight, but Randle came back with his second conversion from beyond the arc and a foot-on-the-line jumper to draw the Knicks back within three.
Randle also drew a foul on Vincent on a 3-point attempt and sank all three free throws for 18 points in the first half.
Gabe Vincent drives past Josh Hart during the Knicks’ win. NBAE via Getty Images
Randle also found Barrett for an open 3-ball in the half’s closing minute to tie the score, but Kevin Love connected from downtown with six seconds remaining for a 54-51 Heat lead at intermission.
The Knicks’ four-man second unit was outscored by Miami’s backups 17-2 — with the lone points scored by Immanuel Quickley (six points overall) — in the first two quarters, with Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes and Hartenstein getting blanked in the half.
A spinning drive by Brunson and another swished trey by Randle pulled the Knicks even in the opening minute of the third. But the Heat got the rim unimpeded on their next three possessions, including two drives by Strus and a dunk by Bam Adebayo, for a 62-56 game.
Brunson swished in a trio of 3s and netted 13 in the quarter to keep the Knicks close, until his lefty runner and a fall-away jumper by Randle gave them a 76-75 advantage with 2:00 to go. But Vincent’s 20-foot jumper put the Heat up by one entering into the final period.
Source: New York Post
