MIAMI — Both the Knicks and Heat came into their first meeting of the season bragging about their desire to push the pace, Erik Spoelstra and Mike Brown each waving their arms at every opportunity to exhort their teams to run.
But we all know the history of this rivalry, one mired in mud as defense and aggression are the trademarks. So despite the Heat entering the night as the NBA leader in pace and the Knicks at least preaching a wish for the style, it was always going to be what it was, a dogfight.
There were flagrant fouls, the obligatory Bam Adebayo elbow to the nose of Jalen Brunson and all of the usual accoutrements of the rivalry. And in the end, it was the Knicks unable to overcome their own shooting woes as they fell, 115-107, their first loss of the season.
Miami entered the game not just first in pace, but first in the NBA in offensive rating, scoring 133.5 points per game over their first two games — and doing it without Tyler Herro, their most talented offensive weapon.
“They do a great job of, first of all, getting stops,” Mike Brown said before the game of the Heat running the ball up the floor. “If that ball is going through the net all the time it’s a little bit tougher. If they’re getting stops, they’ve alway been good defensively, and then they’re getting out and they’re filling the lanes. And they’re taking the first available shot whether it’s a two or a three and then putting pressure on you by trying to crash the glass. Spo’s doing a nice job of preaching it and they’re doing a nice job of trying to get out and run. They’ve got a lot of athletes on their team, guys that can do it so it fits them very well.”
The Knicks were unable to get on target from long range, shooting just 15-for-54 from three. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 15 points and 18 rebounds, but didn’t get hot until it was too late. Norman Powell had 29 points to lead Miami.
After a sluggish first half by the Knicks, Brunson, who finished with 37 points, seemed single-handedly to carry the Knicks through the first half of the third quarter, scoring 12 points and handing out two assists. But he was getting little help and when he went to the bench the game fell apart.
The game was tied at 76, with 4:09 left in the third quarter when Brunson went to the bench. By the time the quarter ended the deficit was 88-81 and it quickly jumped to 93-81 before Brown hurriedly called for a timeout with just 1:45 into the fourth quarter. But he did not make a change, keeping Jordan Clarkson as the point guard. Clarkson finally tapped in his own miss with 9:00 left to snap an 11-0 Miami run, drawing a foul on the play and allowing Brunson to reenter the game as he connected on the free throw to close the gap to 93-84.
The Heat stretched the lead to as many as 18 in the fourth quarter before Towns, who missed his first six attempts beyond the arc, finally connected. It also was the Knicks first three to fall in the fourth quarter after the team misfired on the first six attempted.
With the Heat sitting in a zone, Brunson then connected from three to cut the deficit to 105-95 with 4:08 to play. Davion Mitchell answered on the other end, but Brunson followed his own missed three by connecting from long range and a run out by Josh Hart brought the Knicks within 108-100 with 3:06 left. Towns connected again to close the gap to seven.
After a timeout, a Miami turnover and a Brunson drive cut the lead to five, Andrew Wiggins connected from three and the Knicks could not complete the comeback.
Notes & quotes: The Knicks were without Deuce McBride, who was away from the team for personal reasons but is expected to join the team on the trip. With McBride missing after starting Friday’s game against Boston and Mitchell Robinson still sidelined with workload management, the Knicks again turned to Ariel Hukporti, who started the opener but then did not play at all Friday. Robinson is on the trip and there is a possibility he will play in either Milwaukee or Chicago . . . Brown said the minutes restriction on Hart from his first game back Friday was no longer in effect.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.