Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Knicks stay alive and force Game 6 in Miami

Thankfully, Jim Jackson and Ian Eagle were in charge of the last two broadcasts for the Knicks-Heat series. Not that Turner’s coverage is groundbreaking; the audience still has to suffer the psychobabble of Reggie Miller and the thoughtlessness of Stan Van Gundy. But it’s not ABC.

During Game 3’s halftime analysis, Jalen Rose went unchecked, saying the Miami weather was affecting the series, regardless of the game played in a sufficiently ventilated space. Following Miami’s Game 4 win, on ESPN’s “Get Up” show, Mike Greenberg doubled down on Rose’s dopiness and said, “There’s the reality of the temperature change. The heat, the geography, being down there for three days. It sorta zaps a little bit of your energy and your strength…”

I instantly turned my TV off and felt sorry for whoever stayed listening.

In Game 5, Max Strus led the Heat to a 24-10 advantage in the first quarter. Jimmy Butler was more concerned with setting up teammates after a steal, sparking transition, or getting rid of the ball when doubled.

Miami contained the Knicks to six out of 20 makes in the first frame. Julius Randle played every first quarter minute, but as he rested on the bench, the hosts went on runs without him.

The lead seesawed between New York and Miami early in period two. The hosts were operating so well without Randle that he wasn’t checked in until three minutes were left in the half.

While Randle was on the floor in the first interval, he sucked the air out of the ball. He registered one out of seven makes, with one assist to two turnovers, while on a 33.3% usage. The Knicks in the period totaled four dimes.

The Heat struggled to suppress the Knicks’ ball movement in the second quarter. All seven New York assists in quarter two came while Randle was on the bench. The Knicks also raced out to 10 fastbreak points

On the other side, Bam Adebayo hit four straight shots before the half. He dribbled into the lane for a hook over Isaiah Hartenstein, a layup past Mitchell Robinson, and two fastbreak slams. The second dunk was off a Butler miss. Hartenstein went up for the rebound, but Adebayo exploded behind him, grabbed it first and threw it into the cylinder.

At intermission, Miami’s best attack was scoring on second tries. The Heat was down 47-50, taking four more shots but recovering eight offensive boards that turned into 17 second-chance points to New York’s three. Adebayo and Butler each had 12 on their scorecard.

The third quarter was the worst defensive sequence for the visitors. The Knicks scored 34 points on 68.8% shooting from the field and 62.5% efficiency behind the arc. The Heat was caught overhelping on opposing drives and closing out too hard, which exposed areas of the perimeter.

The Heatles endured three scoreless minutes in the third quarter, missing six consecutive tries. The Knicks climbed to its largest series lead (19) midway through the frame.

To start the fourth quarter, the Heat was down 10.

Lowry converted two jumpers by getting M.Robinson and Hartenstein to bite on his fake before hoisting to the side. Duncan Robinson’s sharp shooting, plus Adebayo and Butler’s rim pressure brought Miami to within a possession of the lead with two minutes to go.

The Knicks countered with RJ Barrett driving left on Gabe Vincent. RJ was a step ahead of his man, but an adequate contest was managed. Although Butler left Hartenstein alone to help bother, but his man picked up the miss and went back up for a dunk.

With Miami down four, D. Robinson launched a top-of-the-key triple, but it missed. Butler then bumped into Barrett’s back and was called for a loose ball foul.

The Knicks won 112-103. It was the first match since Game 2 in Milwaukee that Butler had just 12 field goal attempts. In the Heat’s seven postseason wins, Butler averages 23 tries a night.

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra said nothing is easy in the Playoffs.

“We expected this to be tough,” Spo said. “They played well…They really dominated those first seven minutes of the third quarter. We fought back to get it to a possession game in the fourth quarter. I really felt like we needed to get it to at least a tie, or [within] one point, or take the lead. That could have changed things, but you have to give them credit. They made plays when they needed to, and they also earned that 18-19 point lead that they had in the third quarter.”

The series heads back to Miami for Game 6, and the Heat will not practice Thursday.