The Miami Heat are putting together quite an improbable NBA playoff run. After making it through the play-in tournament to gain the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Heat took down the Milwaukee Bucks — the holders of the NBA’s best regular season record — in the first round.
After defeating the New York Knicks 96-92 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday, the Heat returned to the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, they must wait for the winner of Sunday’s Game 7 involving the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics to determine their opponent.
“It is really frickin’ hard to get to the Eastern Conference finals,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
The Knicks began the game with momentum in their favor — achieving a 29-17 lead with 3:16 remaining in the first quarter. New York was outscored 34-21 for the remainder of the opening half, creating a 51-50 deficit at halftime. At no point did the Knicks regain the lead for the remainder of the game.
“Just got to give them a lot of credit. They didn’t play like an 8 seed — at all,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said. “They were unbelievable. The utmost respect for them and that organization. I liked the way we fought.”
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Brunson gave the Knicks everything he could to put the team in a position to achieve a victory — finishing with 31 points, four rebounds, and three assists in 45 minutes. He did so while shooting 14-22 from the floor, 5-10 from 3-point range, and 8-9 from the free throw line. He set a new franchise record for playoff scoring in a single game by a guard.
“It was a battle,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry said. “A Tom Thibodeau-coached team, they’re always going to play hard. … This was a grind and we found a way.”
Outside of Brunson’s production, the Knicks scored just 51 points while shooting 13-49 from the floor (26.5 percent) and 5-25 from deep (25.0 percent). New York’s top options outside of Brunson — Julius Randle and RJ Barrett — proved to be utterly disappointing. Randle scored 15 points, while Barrett added 11. Both players shot a combined 4-24 from the floor and 1-10 from deep.
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The Knicks did manage to narrow the Heat lead to 92-90 after a sequence involving a flagarent foul against Gabe Vincent sent Brunson to the free throw line for two shots, plus possession. Brunson made both free throws, then created an easy finish for Josh Hart off a dropoff pass — making New York go from being down six points to just two with 54.1 seconds remaining.
Brunson had frequently gotten blitzed by the Heat’s ball screen coverage throughout clutch time. He attempted to attack downhill to make a play, but his dropoff pass to Julius Randle didn’t connect, resulting in a turnover. Jimmy Butler ended up making a pair of free throws to put the Heat up by four points with 14.1 seconds left to play. The Knicks never recovered.
“Congratulations to the Heat, to the organization, to the coaching staff, Spo and Pat Riley and all their players,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “They played tough in this series and hats off to them. But I’m proud of our guys. There’s always disappointment in the end of the season and in the end, there’ll be one team standing. … Proud of the way this team worked all year.”
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The Heat did not receive an elite performance from any of their top players in this game but received a more balanced effort than what Brunson’s supporting cast provided him. Jimmy Butler recorded 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Miami got 23 points and nine rebounds from Bam Adebayo. Max Strus’s 14 points and Kyle Lowry’s 14 points and nine assists also provided a boost.
“We’ve got guys that just want it,” Lowry said.
The Knicks must answer some tough questions entering the offseason as they have an offseason to reconfigure the roster around Brunson. The shot selection and lack of defensive impact from Randle have been costly. Barrett continues to underachieve offensively, with an awkward feel and providing a lack of shot-making and finish consistency. The options for integrating layers to a half-court offense are limited with both of their skill sets. Adding more viable perimeter shooting options will be critical, too.
Meanwhile, the Heat’s goal of pulling off an improbably NBA Finals run remains alive as they became just the second 8th seed in league history to reach the Conference Finals.
“It means we’re one step closer to our goal,” Butler said.
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals is set to begin on Wednesday, May 17. As the 8th seed, the Heat will have to play the first two games of the series as the road team.
Grant Afseth is an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network and a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI’s Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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