RJ Barrett collected 30 points and eight rebounds and Julius Randle added 23 and 10, respectively, to fuel the host New York Knicks to a 106-104 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday.
Barrett made 13 of 23 shots from the floor to record a bounce-back performance after he was benched for the latter half of the fourth quarter and all of overtime in New York’s 129-123 setback to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
Randle, who scored 19 points in the first half on Thursday, was selected as an All-Star Game reserve before the contest.
Quentin Grimes finished with 17 points for the Knicks, who played without Jalen Brunson (non-COVID illness). Brunson was two days removed from scoring 37 points against the Lakers.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo, who also was selected as a reserve for the NBA’s All-Star Game, finished with 32 points and nine rebounds. Tyler Herro drained four 3-pointers to highlight his 25-point performance and Max Strus made five shots from beyond the arc to end up with 17 points for the Heat.
Miami trimmed a five-point deficit to one before Isaiah Hartenstein’s dunk gave New York a 104-101 lead with 33.5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Randle’s basket with 5.2 seconds to play provided insurance.
Strus drained a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left, and a coaches’ challenge gave the Heat another opportunity. Herro’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark to end the game.
Jimmy Butler’s bucket capped a 21-4 run to give Miami a 69-66 lead late in the third before New York finished the quarter on an 11-3 run. Miles McBride and Grimes highlighted the latter surge by sinking a 3-pointer.
The Heat scored 20 of the first 29 points of the second quarter to take a 42-37 lead before the Knicks responded with a flourish. Randle scored seven of his team’s final 14 points to end the half and give New York a 51-48 advantage at intermission.
Barrett scored nine points during New York’s 11-0 surge to start the third quarter before the Heat countered with their 21-4 run. Herro drained a trio of 3-pointers and Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry each connected from beyond the arc during that sequence to give Miami a 69-66 lead.
–Field Level Media
