Eight ‘Em Up! Knicks Survive Heat Wave in South Beach
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Randle. Julius Randle.
Engaging in a de facto three-game playoff series through the month of March in a series that could help shape the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, the New York Knicks and Miami Heat’s Friday night get-together lived up to the hype and then some.
A one-sided first half gave way to a thrilling second act, one that ended with a 122-120 score in the Knicks’ favor, good for their eighth win in a row. Julius Randle reached the 40-point plateau for the fourth time this season with 43 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with what was originally ruled to be 0.7 seconds remaining.
Miami had a chance to steal a win or force an extra five minutes when four-tenths were added to the clock, but Mitchell Robinson stole Kevin Love’s inbound pass to seal the deal. Combined with their eight-game winning streak from December, the Knicks (38-27) have earned multiple winning streaks of at least eight games in the same season since their last championship run in 1972-73. They’re also 11 games over .500 for the first time since the penultimate game of 2020-21.
Jalen Brunson survived an injury scare to score 25, including eight in the final frame. Immanuel Quickley had 21 off the bench.
Another brilliant opening delighted a Miami-Dade Arena crowd packed with Knicks fans, as Randle put in 20 alone in the first quarter as the Knicks built the foundation for what became a 17-point halftime lead. Miami fought back thanks primarily to 33 points from Jimmy Butler, 18 of which came at the foul line.
New York and Miami (33-31) face off twice more this month, the next get-together slated for Mar. 22 in South Beach. Firmly amongst the Eastern Conference’s top six automatic playoff qualifiers, the Knicks are 4.5 games up on the seventh-place Heat with 17 contests left to play.
A busy metropolitan weekend wraps up on Sunday night when the Knicks face the Boston Celtics at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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