The Knicks had the opportunity, for the first time in their unexpectedly strong season, to climb three games over .500. They had a chance to win their fourth straight for the first time in over a calendar year.
It looked good for New York until halftime, despite the paucity of offense. But then Jimmy Butler turned to alpha dog and the Knicks couldn’t counter, falling Monday night to the Heat, 98-88, without much of a fight in the second half.
In the words of birthday boy Clyde Frazier, who turned 72 on Monday, the Knicks were out-muscled and out-hustled.
Butler finished with 27 points over just 34 minutes, carrying the Heat to a three-game season sweep of New York and his former coach Tom Thibodeau.
Julius Randle returned to New York’s lineup after missing the previous game with a thigh contusion, dropping a respectable 22 points with eight boards. But the Knicks (24-23) shot just 41 percent, including 10-for-36 from beyond the arc, and managed a paltry 15 assists as a team.
Bam Adebayo owned the paint and the glass, finishing with 20 points and 18 rebounds (including five offensive). It turned disappointing for the Knicks in the third quarter, when Butler took over and the Heat turned a seven-point deficit into an 11-point advantage.
That was all the difference in such a low-scoring game.
The first half was more reminiscent of the Heat-Knicks battles over 20 years ago, at least on the scoreboard. The Knicks had zero assists in the first quarter and just four in the second, but still led, 43-36, heading into the break.
With Mitchell Robinson out indefinitely because of a broken foot, Nerlens Noel admirably filled the role of rim protector. He appeared to injure his shoulder in the first quarter but still managed to block three shots in the first half, including a dunk attempt from Miami rookie Precious Achiuwa.
Noel ranks in the NBA’s top-5 in blocked shots. He finished with four on Monday but couldn’t cope with Adebayo.
“Nerlens does everything we ask him to do. He’s young. He loves playing defense. …,” Taj Gibson said. “He protects the rim all the time. He doesn’t back down from anybody trying to dunk the ball. He goes up for the block and blocks it most of the time.”
Heat guard Goran Dragic played for the first time in five games because of a back injury and looked rusty, scoring just four points in 24 minutes. But Miami had all it needed with Butler.
