In a regular season, every game counts when a team has playoff ambitions. But for the Knicksthis 77th game of their season that night at Madison Square Garden was perhaps the most important of all because the opponent was the Heata direct chaser in the Top 6 race in the Eastern Conference.
In this, the victory acquired by Tom Thibodeau’s men is therefore perhaps the most important of their exercise since it is synonymous with a “tie-breaker” validated against the Florida team, beaten for the third time in four games by the Knicks. In other words: in the event of a tie in the standings between the two formations at the end of the season next week, it is the troop of the “Big Apple” which will receive the best ranking.
A pretty unlikely scenario considering the Knicks are now 4 more wins and 4 fewer losses than the Heat, with just five games left to play.
So much for the challenges of the meeting vis-à-vis the ranking. Now the game facts.
A hotly contested match for three quarters: 4 points difference at the end of the first quarter, 2 at halftime and then even a draw at the end of the third quarter. It was therefore in the last act that the “momentum” swung for good in favor of the residents of the “MSG”, who took out the barbed wire at the appropriate time, depriving their opponents of points for nearly five minutes, for only 16 points. cashed in this final quarter.
At the same time, in attack, a great trio Immanuel Quickley – Josh Hart – Isaiah Hartenstein added the important baskets to definitively distance the Heat, which chained a third consecutive loss and lost more ground in its quest for 6th place in the Eastern Conference.
A great victory for the New York players, considering that they lost 15 balls, missed 11 free throws and lost Julius Randle injury in the second quarter. While RJ Barrett And Jalen Brunson missed out on their match (24 points at 9/24 in aggregate)…
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– 2, the magic number of the Knicks. The calculations are very simple: the Knicks need a combination of two results in their favor to officially secure a place in the Top 6 and avoid the “play-in”. For example: two victories, or a victory and a defeat for the Heat at the same time, or quite simply two defeats for the Heat… Nothing is officially certain yet, but it still smells good for the New York club.
– Julius Randle’s wound, the only cloud in an otherwise blue sky. This is indeed the bad news of the beautiful evening of the Knicks: by falling on the foot of Bam Adebayo after taking a position for an offensive rebound at the end of the first quarter, the New York strong winger sprained his left ankle quite badly. He very quickly joined the locker room limping, and never came back. It now remains to know the extent of the damage, that is to say the severity of the sprain. The Knicks will communicate on this subject in the next few hours, but it is certain that the “Big Apple” is crossing its fingers.
– Another whole quarter in darkness for the Heat offense. The day before in Toronto, it was a disastrous third quarter that buried the Heat’s hopes of victory. This time, it was in the last act, concluded with only 16 points scored, that the Floridians collapsed in attack, while there was a tie at the end of the third act and the momentum was up for grabs. A lot of credit is to be given to the Knicks, intractable in defense at this decisive moment of the meeting, but it is all the same worrying for the Heat and their attack almost systematically broken down for long periods, even entire quarters at every game.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes. With Julius Randle leaving his side prematurely and RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson looking out of sorts, the two young fullbacks took matters into their own hands to guide the Knicks to capital success. The first, two days after a career-high 40 points, distinguished himself by brilliant management of his team’s attack, compiling 24 points and 4 assists (and 3 interceptions). The second, as so often, shone in the outdoor shooting exercise with 5 award-winning shots scored (out of 10 attempted), not to mention 8 rebounds and 4 assists for a good “all-around” match. A boss match for the two youngsters of the “backcourt” of New York.
✅ Josh Hart. Is it possible not to appreciate seeing this player at work on a pitch? In any case, the hyperactive winger always gives reason to adore him, and this night his enormous volume of play made news a lot of good for the Knicks off the bench. In 28 minutes, the former Villanova compiled 13 points (6/7), 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Not to mention his exemplary defense on Jimmy Butler in the last act in particular, when the Knicks collectively made the difference in their half of the field.
✅⛔️ Gabe Vincent. Ghostly the day before in Toronto, the current leader of the Heat rebounded well with a good game with 21 points (8/11), 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. In defense, he had a hard time against Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes, and his +/- showed it well (-12), but his overall contribution was satisfactory given the frequent air holes in the game. attack of the Heat.
THE FOLLOWING
– Knicks (44-33): trip to Cleveland, on the night of Friday to Saturday (01:30).
– Heat (40-37): reception of the Mavericks, on the night of Saturday to Sunday (01:30).
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