The New York Knicks couldn’t make a free throw, lost their All-Star in the first half, and were way too careless with the ball.
And the Miami Heat couldn’t seize the moment.
Story of the season, it seems.
The result was the Heat’s fourth loss in their last six games, a 101-92 defeat Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden that moves them closer to a play-in postseason reality, perhaps now left to scramble for seeding even in that second-tier neighborhood.
“We will regroup, knowing that the momentum shifts like crazy, either way, and right now we’re in a downturn of that,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It does not feel good right now for anyone in that locker room.”
The game took a turn when, with 2:38 left in the second quarter and the game tied, when Knicks forward Julius Randle took a hard foul from Heat center Bam Adebayo and wound up with an ankle sprain that would end his night after he shot his free throws. Randle closed 1 of 5 from the field, with three points and five rebounds. He was replaced at the start of the second half by Obi Toppin.
No matter, just as the Knicks’ 12-of-23 foul shooting didn’t matter, nor their 16 turnovers.
“It’s just been a challenging year,” said point guard Gabe Vincent, who led the Heat with 21 points. “I don’t think it’s the year that any of us expected.
Beyond Vincent, there was little of consequence for the Heat, with Tyler Herro scoring 16, Jimmy Butler 12 and Duncan Robinson 12. Adebayo closed with nine points and 11 rebounds.
The Heat, with five games remaining in their regular season that stands at 40-37, are now idle until Saturday night’s home game against the Dallas Mavericks.
“There is a fire,” Spoelstra said. “Our guys are embracing the struggle. There hasn’t been anything easy about this season. And sometimes seasons go like that. But the resolve is there. And it may not feel like that right now to anybody on the outside.”
Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday’s game:
1. Closing time: The Heat led 23-19 at the end of the opening period then trailed 48-46 at halftime, a somewhat surprising deficit with the Knicks 5 of 13 from the foul line and with 11 turnovers in the first half. It then was tied 76-76 going into the fourth quarter.
The Knicks then moved to a 95-85 lead with 4:17 to play with a 12-1 run, their largest lead to that stage.
“We certainly had enough to be able to put ourselves in a position to win,” Spoelstra said. “Boom, I blinked, and it was a 10-point game. I thought it was going to be right in our favor.
“I had to take a second timeout two minutes later and that was deflating.”
2. Playoff race: The loss ended any last-gasp Heat hope of rising as high as the No. 5 seed in the East, with the Knicks now with a 3 1/2-game lead in that race, clinching the tiebreaker Wednesday by taking the season series 3-1.
In addition, with the Brooklyn Nets defeating the Houston Rockets, the Heat now are 1 1/2 games behind the Nets for No. 6, the final automatic playoff seed, with Brooklyn owning that tiebreaker.
The loss also trimmed the Heat’s lead at No. 7 to just 1 1/2 games over the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks. The Raptors own the tiebreaker against the Heat, with the Heat holding the tiebreaker against the Hawks.
“One game at a time,” Adebayo said. “We can’t worry about the end of the season now.”
The Heat could have clinched at least a play-in berth with the victory.
“It ain’t over with,” Butler said, “until it’s over with.”
3. Butler back: Butler was back after missing Tuesday night’s loss in Toronto due to neck pain, clearly taking a measured approach.
“It felt a little better,” he said. “Still not all the way there.”
Butler had been listed as questionable until shortly after the Heat’s arrival to the Garden.
He again sat at the start of the fourth quarter, when he was up to10 points and five assists, returning with 7:12 to play and the Heat down 86-84.
He closed 5 of 10 from the field with six assists, but just 2 of 2 from the line, not his typical aggressive self.
“Through the good and the bad,” Butler said, “we are handling it together.”
4. Plan B: After a few twists and turns on the injury report, Kyle Lowry sat out the second night of the back-to-back set.
Lowry, who was out for a month due to knee pain before returning March 11, has not played both ends of a back-to-back set since December.
He played 24:29 in Tuesday night’s loss in Toronto.
“We have a very well-thought out plan,” Spoelstra said. “Because of our circumstances right now, we can’t be desperate.”
The Heat’s concerns at point guard were alleviated when Vincent was cleared to play ahead of the game after being listed as questionable on the injury report due to back spasms.
Vincent has been the starting point guard since Lowry was sidelined and then through Lowry’s return.
5. Plan C: The rotation had to be further adjusted when Max Strus was called for his third foul 2:33 after entering in the first quarter. Spoelstra rushing Robinson out of the deep freeze and into the rotation. Strus did not return after that opening stint.
Robinson closed the first half 3 of 3 on 3-pointers, with the rest of the roster 3 of 18 on 3-pointers over the opening two periods.
“Everything is on the table right now,” Spoelstra said of Robinson possibly earning more playing time. “He’s kept himself ready. That’s a hard thing to do.”
Victor Oladipo followed Robinson off the bench, continuing the recent pattern of playing only when a rotation regular is out, which was the case with Butler’s absence on Tuesday night and Lowry’s absence in this one.
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Source: Berkshire mont
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