Two games, two crucial last-second shots, and two victories by two points each for the New York Knicks.
Wednesday will see the return of a long-standing rivalry between the Knicks and Heat.
This season, New York has defeated Miami twice. On February 2, New York defeated the visiting Heat 106-104 after Miami’s Tyler Herro missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.
In that game, the Knicks were without two starters, point guard Jalen Brunson and center Mitchell Robinson, but RJ Barrett came in and scored 30 points for the team.
The rematch took place on March 3 in Miami, and Julius Randle’s decisive three-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining gave the Knicks the victory, 122-120.
Randle has played with energy the entire season, averaging 33.0 focuses, 9.5 bounce back and 4.5 aids the two games against Miami. In terms of points scored (25.6), rebounds (10.2), and assists (4.1), Randle leads New York for the season.
In New York’s 140-134 home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, Randle scored a career-high 57 points. In the third quarter, Randle set a team record with 26 points.
New York’s first 50-point performance since Carmelo Anthony in 2014 was led by Randle, who made 19 of 29 field goal attempts and 8 of 14 3-pointers.
The Heat and Knicks have both won three out of their last four games.
Herro scored 10 of his 19 points in the final 3:20 of Miami’s 112-100 victory over Detroit, the opponent.
This week, the Heat, who are 24-13 in Miami this season, play two games at home, including a game against Brooklyn on Saturday.
The Heat will then travel once more, culminating in a game against the Knicks on March 29 to conclude their season series.
Herro has averaged 27.0 points and 7.0 assists in Miami’s two games this season against the Knicks, Bam Adebayo has averaged 25.0 points, and Jimmy Butler has averaged 21.0 points.
Butler leads Miami in both scoring (22.7) and steals (1.9) for the season. Adebayo has the most rebounds (9.4) and the second-most points (21.1). In addition, Herro is third in both assists and scoring (20.2)
Herro might need to monitor Brunson, New York’s tricky point watch who drives the Knicks in helps (6.2) and positions second in scoring (23.8). Brunson is making 83.6% of his free throws, 51.3% of his 2-pointers, and 41.3% of his 3-pointers.
The Heat will also keep an eye on Josh Hart and Immanuel Quickley, two important bench players for New York.
Since acquiring Hart from Portland on February 9, New York is 12-4. Hart is one of the best NBA rebounders and averages 11.1 points per game for the Knicks. Quickley is the leading bench scorer for New York, averaging a career-high 13.7 points per game.
Kyle Lowry, who leads the team in assists with 5.2, is part of Miami’s current bench construction. Max Strus (11.7 scoring normal), Caleb Martin (10.1 ppg) and Victor Oladipo (10.1 ppg).
