Heat drop one in New York 112-103, Knicks force a game 6

A game that Miami trailed by 19 points, they rallied back but came up short.

The Miami Heat drop game 5 on the road 112-103. The squad was unable to complete the gentleman sweep as Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks have forced a game 6 back in South Florida. Brunson exploded offensively, going for a game high 38 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists on 12/22 shooting. He received help from the rest of the Knicks core as well with 26 points from RJ Barrett and 24 points from Julius Randle.

As a team, New York shot better than Miami both overall from the field and behind the 3 point line. The Knicks shot 49% and 38% respectively, as the Heat shot 42% and 30%. Miami also got destroyed in the rebounding department, losing 50 to 34.

A big part of that was Mitchell Robinson, who snatched 11 boards for the Knicks and even hit some clutch free throws. The Heat intentionally fouled Robinson a few times in the 4th quarter as he is a known poor free throw shooter.

He made Miami pay with those decisions; stepping up to knock down some crucial ones down the stretch.

Jimmy Butler, on a very off night, was Miami’s leading man with 19 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds. He was just 5/12 from the field.

Regardless of the strong assist and rebounding numbers, it was a rough game for Butler. He didn’t have that quickness with the ball in his hands, and was forced to pass on a lot on his drives to the rim. It looked like he was moving slightly gingerly as well.

It is unknown if it was simply just an off night scoring wise for Butler or if that ankle injury is still really nagging him. It’s a shame that the team couldn’t get the job done and close it out tonight, because Butler could have really used those extra days off for rest and treatment on that ankle.

Bam Adebayo had a strong outing, going for 18 points and 8 rebounds on 7/11 shooting. The problem though is that with Butler struggling and not being as assertive offensively, it would have really helped if Adebayo took some more field goal attempts.

Especially considering that he was so efficient, as a co-star he needs to up those shot attempts even more when Butler is off with his shooting.

Max Strus, Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson all had good nights. Especially Robinson, who stepped up with 17 points and going 5/10 from 3 point range off the bench.

Duncan Robinson was a big reason Miami was able to keep it close after going down 19 points. He hit some timely 3 pointers to help keep the Heat alive and rally back into the game. Kyle Lowry also had some moments in helping Miami come back, including a couple 3 pointers and huge and-one in the 4th.

However, he struggled to shoot the ball as well and was in foul trouble. He got his 5th foul midway through the 4th quarter and was forced to sit. By the time he came back in, he wasn’t in rhythm anymore.

Kevin Love also had a night he would like to forget. The veteran got several great looks from long range, a lot that he has usually knocked down throughout this playoff run, but just couldn’t get them to fall tonight. In 16 minutes, Love was an abysmal 2/10 from the field.

The efficiency from the two role playing vets in Lowry and Love needs to improve for game 6. Along with both Butler and Adebayo being more aggressive.

Defensively, this team cannot allow New York to shoot twice as many free throws. They need to be smarter in that department and do a better job at boxing out and getting good position for rebounding. Hopefully, that is something Love can help with on Friday night after only getting 5 rebounds in tonight’s game.

Miami needs to make their adjustments, watch some film, and hope Butler can bounce back, among other issues. They do not want to gamble with going back to MSG again for a winner takes all game 7.

The Heat will run it back Friday in the Kaseya Center in what should be considered a must-win and protect home court again.