Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Knicks Defeat Heat in Game 2 Without Jimmy Butler

Referee ineptitude, late mistakes, and Julius Randle’s return helped even the Knicks-Heat series at 1-1. While Miami was without Jimmy Butler, it still contended with New York until the last minute. As the hosts took a late lead in the fourth quarter, Carmelo Anthony and John Starks celebrated like they had the winning lottery numbers.

Caleb Martin had not started since Feb. 15. But he filled in for Butler as the group’s source of offense until Gabe Vincent almost set MSG ablaze in the second half. For as long as it could, the Heat made the game as muddy as the Delta Blues.

The Heat got started by putting Mitchell Robinson in foul trouble. He picked up two penalties in fewer than three minutes defending Bam Adebayo. Isaiah Hartenstein was summoned for the rest of the first quarter, significantly reducing the protection around the rim.

RJ Barrett and Randle fuelled New York’s barren attack in the first half, combining for 12 of the team’s 16 makes. In the second quarter, Miami flashed its 2-3 zone, and the hosts turned into mainly jump shooters, converting just 20% of deep tries. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau looked repulsed as his unit ignored shattering the coverage by attacking the middle.

Through 24 minutes, Martin had a dozen, Kevin Love and Bam Adebayo logged eight points apiece, and Max Strus and Duncan Robinson each had six.

The Knicks routinely blitzed ball handlers turning past screens. Vincent and Kyle Lowry dissected these doubles by locating the closest snipers on the perimeter.

In the second half, Brunson erupted for 23 points. He darted past defenders for layups, and splashed deep jumpers in front of switches or when left open. His first step also put defenders on his back hip as he gored the lane.

On the other side, Miami’s lead guard, Vincent, countered with 18 points in quarters three and four. He isolated Randle on the wing for a triple and went one-on-one with Barrett for a long baseline jumper. His next two baskets were top of the key trifectas in front of Quentin Grimes and Hartenstein. His last couple of buckets were layups blowing past Barrett and some ballet around Robinson.

In the fourth quarter, the refs blew multiple calls. On one with 5:29 left, Lowry was boxed out by Randle, waiting for a miss to trickle down, but he got flattened like a pancake and was called for the foul. With three minutes left, the Heat was called for a shot clock violation when Vincent recovered Martin’s miss. The ball kissed the rim as the buzzer horned, but Miami never got 14 seconds back. Coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game it was unchallengeable.

The Heat made two significant mistakes in the fourth quarter. Adebayo rammed through Hartenstein’s pindown for Brunson, resulting in a four-point play, and Hart was left open in the corner because of miscommunication.

In the middle of the last frame, New York went on a 14-6 run to take a three-point lead. It climbed to eight, the host’s largest of the night, and Miami had to play the free throw game with seconds left. A quick layup, an inbound turnover by Randle, and a D. Robinson right-side triple cut the deficit to three with 22 seconds remaining.

The Heat failed to get the steal on the following inbound and burned too many seconds before fouling Hart. The Knicks won 111-105.

At the postgame presser, Spo said, “I think we did everything we needed to do to give ourselves a chance to win on the road. But you do have to credit New York. When it becomes those moments of truth, you have to make plays. We did make some plays, but they made more ball in the air, ball on the floor plays that really ended up deciding the game. Those offensive rebounds and extra possessions…”

With the series heading to Miami for Games 3 and 4, the Heat accomplished its objective by splitting the series on the road. Winning Tuesday would have put the Heatles in a commanding position, but the effort the group gave without Butler, the V-12 engine of the squad, is admirable. In his absence, the group still personified his identity.

The next match isn’t until Saturday, giving Butler three days of recovery in between. When he comes back, the Knicks are in danger.

There’s something different about the Heat. They don’t look like a team that had senioritis during the regular season or lost in the first play-in game. Giannis Antetokounmpo hurt his back 11 minutes into round one.  Then the White and Red’s confidence spiked higher than radiation levels in Chernobyl.

Dare I say it? It’s starting to feel like a bubble run.