The New York Knicks were in Miami to take on Jimmy Butler and the number one seed Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Following this performance, the Knicks are going to want to get out of Miami as soon as they can.
Miami got out to a hot start and didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal for the entirety of the game. Miami never trailed in this game while maintaining a double-digit lead against the Knicks.
When asked about the team’s red-hot start, PJ Tucker had this to say in response: “We were aggressive from the start.” Tucker also added, “We wanted to be aggressive defensively, put pressure on their guards and make sure Julius Randle didn’t get a lot of easy looks.” This strategy and mindset clearly paid off for Miami as they cruised to a victory over New York.
All cylinders were clicking against New York and it shows in the stat sheet. Four Heat players had over 20 points and the team was shooting the lights out of the basketball. Duncan Robinson was doing his usual things as he torched the ball from long range, hitting seven of his eleven three point attempts. Jimmy Butler added 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists along with bringing the grit and tenacity that he always does. Off the bench, Tyler Herro added 21 points in 32 minutes as he was electric from every spot on the court. It was also Herro’s first game back in three games because of COVID.
Julius Randle struggled Wednesday night. Miami had seemed to figure out how to guard last season’s most improved player. Randle was held to 11 points on 5/12 shooting in just 26 minutes played. Both Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier also struggled to shoot the ball. Walker and Fournier both had seven points on a very off night for both of them.
Miami will face off against Reggie Jackson and the Clippers Friday night at home.
(Featured image by Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)