Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks (20*-8) faced the Miami Heat (15-14) for the fourth and final time tonight. The Heat jumped out to a 37-30 first-quarter lead behind Kel’el Ware’s hot shooting and a 7-of-11
performance from three-point range, while Brunson kept the Knicks close with 14 points. New York’s bench sparked a second-quarter turnaround, and consecutive triples from Mikal Bridges helped them erase the deficit and take a 66-62 halftime advantage. The Knicks extended their lead to double digits in the third quarter thanks to an OG Anunoby eruption and Mitchell Robinson’s dominant final two minutes, entering the fourth up 105-99. And our heroes maintained control down the stretch as Brunson’s scorching shooting and Norman Powell’s flagrant foul sealed a 132-125 win for the Knicks.
On the list of the most 40-point games in franchise history, Patrick Ewing has 30, Bernard King has 23, and tonight, Brunson logged his 20th. The captain led all scorers with 47 points on 15-of-26 shooting (58%), 6-of-13 from three (46%), and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line. He played 38 minutes and dished out eight assists. Appreciate every moment of him, fans.
Bridges added 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 6-of-7 from deep, finishing at +2 in 40 minutes. After a scoreless first half, Anunoby contributed 18 points (6-of-12 shooting) with strong two-way play. Josh Hart added a nifty stat-line of 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 33 minutes for a +4.
Karl-Anthony Towns had an extremely quiet game with just 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting (0-of-2 from three) in 29 minutes. He grabbed six rebounds, too, spending most of the game begging the refs for foul calls.
Off the bench, Robinson was pretty brilliant, with nine points and a perfect 3-of-3 from the line, plus seven rebounds in 22 minutes (+6). Doubters take note: his free-throw streak is now up to 10 straight. Jordan Clarkson added 10 points, and Tyler Kolek chipped in six with three assists in 22 minutes (also +16—best on the team!).
Ware led Miami with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three. He dominated the glass with 20 rebounds (six O-boards), plus a steal and a block in 35 minutes. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 23 points off the bench on 9-of-15 shooting, plus five assists in 34 minutes. Norman Powell added 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting (4-of-8 from three), with 3 steals. And Bam Adebayo pieced together 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting (0-of-3 from three) and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Knicks shot 55% from the field, 53% from three (20-of-38), and 86% from the line (18-of-21)—outstanding efficiency across the board. They were outrebounded by nine, but Brunson and Bridges were too hot to lose tonight.
First Half
The Heat took a few minutes to find their footing, missing five of their first seven shots. The Knicks shot about as poorly, and turned over the ball twice, falling behind 13-9 by the midway point.
Kel’el Ware couldn’t be blamed for Miami’s missteps, though. He made his first four shots, including two from deep that ignited a 10-0 run. Brunson answered with five points, trimming the deficit to six, but two more turnovers cost them, as did getting outrebounded.
Following their slow start, Miami caught fire, hitting 8-of-9 from the field. With two minutes and change remaining, the home team fell behind by ten. At that point rookie Mohamed Diawara subbed in for Bridges, and his triple, plus Robinson’s alley-oop and Clarkson’s layup, got the crowd cheering. They loved it, too, when Brunson made another three (he recorded 14 points in Q1), but Miami’s shooting had become a problem. By quarter’s end, the visitors had made 7-of-11 from deep and clung to a 37-30 lead.
To start the second quarter, Tyler Kolek led the troops.
The Knicks were actually shooting better than the Heat from downtown, but their defense was too soft and the disparity in fouls hurt them. The Heat commit the league’s fewest fouls per game, but, by midway through the second, the Knicks had been whistled for eight fouls to their one. Multiple times, Towns complained about contact in the paint, but the refs saw nothing. That’s the NBA for ya!
Perhaps feeling guilty, the refs did the Knicks a solid when they called goal-tend on Jaquez’s impressive block on a Kolek layup. After that, Miami missed a few shots, committed an offensive foul, committed two turnovers, and Bridges hit two triples. With three-and-a-half to go, the ‘Bockers had summoned some momentum, and when Brunson hit a step-back jumper, they had regained the lead.
With 30 seconds left, the mighty Mitch stepped to the line and drilled both. Don’t look now, but he’s hit nine straight freebies. Those beauties, plus another triple by Brunson, gave New York a 66-62 halftime lead.
Through the half, the Knicks outshot the Heat from the field and beyond the arc, hitting 54% overall and 57% from deep compared to Miami’s 47% and 43%. Still, Miami’s 23-18 edge on the glass and at the foul line had kept the game close. Both teams moved the ball well with 15 assists apiece.
Brunson and Bridges were incinerating the nets, counting for 27 and 18 points respectively and a combined 9-of-13 from downtown. No other Knick had scored more than five. KAT and Anunoby had combined for zilch. On the Heat’s side, Ware had logged 14 points and nine boards, and Jaquez had scored 12.
Second Half
OG must have noticed that he hadn’t scored in the first half. He promptly delivered seven points and two blocks, powering a 13-5 New York run. With tighter defensive play and more balanced offense, New York took its largest lead of the night. During that beautiful stretch, Josh Hart drilled a three, Anunoby dunked and blocked two straight shots, and Jalen Brunson capped it off with a driving floater.
Miami steadied itself behind Norman Powell, who carried the offense with drives, free throws, and multiple deep threes, and Kel’el Ware, whose outside shooting, rebounding, and interior presence kept the Heat at the door. After Miami trimmed the margin to one with timely buckets and whistles, Brunson answered with his 37th point for a little cushion.
Robinson was a beast over the final two minutes, slamming home three dunks, grabbing a rebound, and hitting another free throw. Thanks to his burly play, New York took a 105-99 lead into the fourth.
Around the ten-minute mark, when Kolek raced for a driving layup, New York’s lead finally reached double-digits. The sophomore committed a bad-pass turnover soon after, and Mike Brown sent in Brunson to share the backcourt with him at the eight-minute mark. Would’ve liked to see the captain rest a little longer, but these Heat were not prepared to quit. With their foes knocking on the door, at 6:45, Josh Hart swished one of the longest shots I’ve ever seen him make—the stats say it was 27-feet, but it was a bomb. We love to see that confidence in Josh!
New York wasn’t corralling their usual quota of offensive rebounds, so misses became costly one-and-dones. At the other end, Miami was hanging around. . . . Ware was well into a double-double, Powell found his way to the free throw line, and the refs were happy to oblige. With the Knicks clinging to a six-point lead with five minutes left, Brunson canned a fall-away corner three that prevented a serious momentum shift.
Brunson was sizzling, Bridges was cooking, Anunoby was demonizing, and even Josh was spit-firing. But Kat . . . by the two-minute mark, he had two points on five shots and about 30 impassioned complaints to the zebras. Maybe we were due for a KAT’s-in-his-head game.
At 1:34, Powell screwed the Day-Glo’s game plan, committing a flagrant on a Brunson that Cap turned into three points, restoring a ten-point lead. From there it was lead maintenance—and another home win for our heroes.
Up Next
Off to Minnesota to face Julius, Donte, and the Timberwolves on Tuesday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
* Should be one more, but the Cup final doesn’t count.
