The New York Knicks came away victorious against the Miami Heat at MSG on Sunday, January 12th. The Knicks were playing from behind most of the game, however, the home team bent but didn’t break against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat on the Madison Square Garden floor.
The Knicks scored 72-points in the paint compared to Miami’s 46-points in the paint. Knicks also came away with 11-steals compared to Miami’s 2-steals. Both teams shot 82.1% from the free-throw line which shows improvement for the Knicks. However, the Knicks did struggle from three-point land hitting only 9-31 three-point field goals while Miami capitalized on 14-35 attempts from downtown. The largest lead for Miami was fourteen, but the Knicks didn’t break. Knicks stayed focused and rallied back in the second half behind Reggie Bullock. Bullock scored all sixteen of his points in the second half because Coach Mike Miller began running plays for the sharpshooter which led to success at a rapid rate from the three-point line.
Julius Randle scored 26-points and grabbed 8-rebounds in his first game back after spending time away from the team for personal reasons. Randle drained a big-time three-pointer which gave the Knicks a brief two-point lead with nearly two minutes left in the fourth quarter. RJ Barrett was locked in as well with 23-points as his rookie slump came to an abrupt end.
The Miami Heat surprisingly had supporters at MSG making an effort to drown out the noise of Knick fans. This might’ve led the Knick players to become even more locked in. Last time Knicks played the Heat in Miami, the Heat destroyed the men in orange and blue by a score of 129-114. Knicks made sure this time around the opposite would happen as they defeated the Miami Heat by the score of 124-121 at home in New York City. The victory is credited to a total team effort from top to bottom under Interim Coach Mike Miller along with his great game management.