The first NBA in-season tournament is an attempt to infuse a little bit of playoff intensity into regular season contests.
But the Miami Heat and New York Knicks rarely need any additional motivation when opposing one another.
The Heat and Knicks will continue East Group B play Friday night, when Miami visits New York in the latest clash of the longtime rivals.
The first NBA in-season tournament is an attempt to infuse a little bit of playoff intensity into regular season contests.
But the Miami Heat and New York Knicks rarely need any additional motivation when opposing one another.
The Heat and Knicks will continue East Group B play Friday night when Miami visits New York in the latest clash of the longtime rivals.
The Heat continued their November surge Wednesday by beating the host Cleveland Cavaliers, 129-96. The Knicks have been off since Monday, when they ended a five-game road trip with a 117-100 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves that snapped a three-game winning streak.
The Heat are 2-0 in Group B play after beating the Washington Wizards 121-114 on Nov. 3 and edging the Charlotte Hornets 111-105 on Nov. 14. The Knicks are 1-1 following a 110-105 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 3 and a 120-99 win over the Wizards on Nov. 17.
The in-season tournament will provide the latest chapter in the compelling history between the Heat and the Knicks. The two teams have played each other in the Eastern Conference playoffs six times — all since Pat Riley resigned as New York’s head coach via a fax message and went to Miami to become its head coach and team president following the 1995 season.
Each team has won three series. The Heat won the first postseason matchup between the squads in 11 years last spring, when Miami earned a six-game win in the conference semifinals.
With both teams playing well over the season’s first six weeks, Friday’s in-season tournament clash could be a preview of another playoff duel.
Miami, which improved to 10-5 Wednesday, has won nine of 10 following a 1-4 start. The Heat’s last two wins, including a 118-100 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday, have been of the wire-to-wire variety after they recorded each of their first seven wins this month by eight points or fewer.
With Bam Adebayo (bruised hip) sidelined, Kyle Lowry sparked the Heat by sinking seven 3-pointers and scoring 28 points — his most since Nov. 23, 2022.
“Kyle was terrific — not just his shooting, but his pace,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We needed him to be aggressive and assertive.”
Adebayo is listed as questionable for Friday’s game.
The loss to the Timberwolves dropped the Knicks — who are trying to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since a three-year run from 2011-13 — to 8-6, though they got a little closer to full strength with the return of Quentin Grimes. The shooting guard, who missed the previous two games with a sprained left wrist, was scoreless, going 0-for-6 from the field in 24-plus minutes.
The Knicks trailed 58-56 at the half Monday before the Timberwolves put the game away by outscoring New York 35-19 in the third.
“I think honestly, they just beat us to the punch tonight in the second half and we didn’t react as fast as we could,” Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson said. “We’ve just got to react better. That third quarter we’ve got to be ready to go.”
–Field Level Media
