The heart of this Heat is impressive! While they were promised hell in this Game 2 in the absence of Jimmy Butler, hero of Game 1 won by Miami, the Floridians managed to hold the Knicks at bay for the second game in a row at MSG before finally losing to the Brunson-Hart-Randle trio who finished strong to keep their team alive in the series.
The New York tidal wave did not take place at the start of the match. On the contrary, Miami made sure to prevent MSG from igniting in the first half to start, with first the Vincen-Strus-Martin-Love quartet responding to the onslaught of RJ Barrett from afar, then an outside address which then materialized via Duncan Robinson and once again the Martin-Love tandem in order to resist a Julius Randle wound up like a pendulum (51-54 at the break).
Josh Hart, Knicks hero
Miami continued to race ahead after the break, until Jalen Brunon finally started to set the room on fire with two 3-point missiles then a floater to put the hosts back in the lead (74- 73). MSG were on the lookout for the slightest opportunity to warm up and believed that Quentin Grimes’ 2+1 counter-attack then Immanuel Quickley’s two baskets in quick succession would launch the slingshot. Nothing happened (85-85).
Miami indeed shot first, relying on Gabe Vincent, author of a second 3-point basket in a row then a drive towards the circle before finding Caleb Martin behind the arc to cool the atmosphere ( 87-93). But the 6th man of the Knicks had not said his last word, and retorted with a missile from afar and a step-back to equalize at 93-93 at the start of “money-time”.
It was then that the locals took control of the match with two 3-point baskets signed Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. Soon after, it was Julius Randle who found Josh Hart in the corner twice. The first crossed the net, the second saw Josh Hart fly away to snatch an offensive rebound and allow Julius Randle to finally add two more points to the free throw (106-100). With two new rebounds taken at high altitude, Josh Hart ended up securing the victory by scoring the last three shots of the victory to allow his team to win 111-105.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The heart of the Heat. This Miami team’s ability to pull together even in adversity continues to impress. The context of the evening was clearly not in their favor with the absence of their major player in one of the hottest atmospheres in the NBA. Despite this, with great rigor and heart, the Floridians held off the Knicks until the last minutes of the match. Even if there was no victory at the end, there is no doubt that Erik Spoelstra had to congratulate his troops for the content displayed under these conditions.
– The role of Knicks lieutenants. We can never repeat it enough, the role of the aptly named “role-players” is essential in the playoffs. If Jalen Brunson was huge at the end of the match, we will still highlight the importance of Isaiah Harteinstein, who fought on every ball and managed to swallow some precious offensive rebounds, but also and above all Josh Hart, who was able to raise his level of play at the end by slamming two 3-point missiles from the corner, taking rebounds at very high altitude and scoring the free throws that sealed the fate of the game.
– Eye for detail. Such a tight encounter is likely to change at any moment. This is how at 99-96, the Heat will be able to regret the error of the referees in having refused a ready-made lay-up to Gabe Vincent, estimating that the 24-second clock had come to an end without the ball has touched the circle. But he scuffed the circle on Caleb Martin’s 3-point attempt. Gabe Vincent’s basket might not have allowed Miami to win, but at least to continue to keep the Knicks under pressure. Instead, Jalen Brunson placed a floater to increase the lead to +5 with less than three minutes remaining.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jalen Brunson. The playmaker lived up to expectations with excellent shot selection and near-flawless ball handling punctuated by just one loose ball when he dribbled past himself at a critical moment. He then recovered very well by chaining the decisive baskets to create a definitive gap with Miami.
✅ Julius Randle. Very good Julius Randle for his return from injury. Aggressive, he carried his team on his shoulders in the second quarter as the Heat pushed hard to try to make the hole. He finished two assists from the triple-double.
✅ Josh Hart. Since his arrival in New York, we keep repeating that he has the potential and the profile to become the soul of this team. He demonstrated it last night by playing a “Josh Hart” match, at 200% every second on the floor to finish with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists. With Jalen Brunson, he was thus the man of “money-time”.
✅ Gabe Vincent. With Caleb Martin, he was the one who had the highest level of play in the absence of Jimmy Butler. Above all, he was the one who almost offered the Heat a second success when he chained two 3-point baskets, a drive concluded by a lay-up and then an assist for Martin’s 3-point. The streak, however, came a little too early in the last act and gave the Knicks time to recover.
⛔️ Kyle Lowry. The player remains valuable for his leadership, the quality of his game vision, his intensity and the precision of his passes. However, he sinned a little in scoring, with a 3/9 shooting at 0/4 from afar. Nothing dramatic but we expected more from him on this point in the absence of Jimmy Butler.
THE FOLLOWING
Game 3 : this Saturday at 9:30 p.m. in Miami.
