Had a few more shots and calls gone the Knicks’ way, they very easily could’ve been going into tonight’s game amid a five-game winning streak. And it would’ve been incredible.
We’d be talking about how Jalen Brunson scored 61 points while out dueling Victor Wembanyama in an all-time classic that would surely get reruns on MSG for years to come, and how they withstood another huge game from Jalen Williams and Josh GIddey to to beat a very good Thunder team that has sat atop the western conference standings for much of the season.
Instead, they’re coming off of two heartbreaking losses which might be the most gut-wrenching pair of games this season that saw the team ultimately waste heroic performances from the aforementioned Brunson in the first game, and Isaiah Hartenstein and Deuce McBride in the second. Now, on the heels of said disappointing performances, New York will travel to Miami to take on a 41-33 Heat team that sits three games behind them in the eastern conference.
Miami, like every other team competing for playoff seeding, should be extremely motivated to avoid the play-in game, and adding to that fire is the fact that the Heat have lost their last three, and six of seven, regular season matchup against the Knicks. But a lot has changed since the last time these two teams me
Over the last few months, New York has gone from one of the most dominant teams in the league to a hobbled and shorthanded team fighting to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Additionally, New York is missing both Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, who were crucial when these two teams last met. Meanwhile, Miami, who’ll be without Tyler Herro (foot) tonight, comes into this game a little hotter than when we saw them last. When these teams faced off in late January, the Heat were coming off of a five-game losing streak that marked the low point of their season. They’ve since picked things up a bit and are currently 6-4 in their last 10 games.
Prediction
It seems like regardless of who is in and who is out, games between the Knicks and the Heat always end up close and physical, and I wouldn’t expect any different tonight. Miami will come into the game determined to avoid the season sweep at the hands of New York, and the Knicks will likely open the game up with a level of desperation as a result of their last two games.
And deciding what should be a hard-fought nail-biter, will likely be rebounding and bench scoring. The Heat go into tonight ranking 26th in rebounds per game over their last five games while the Knicks are fifth during that span, but Miami will have the upper hand in the second unit as they rank second in bench scoring in their last five games while the Knicks rank 27th during that span.
So, will it be the rebounding of the Knicks or the bench of the Heat that wins out and decides this game? It’s ultimately hard to say. Miami is the hotter team right now and will be at home, but two of their recent wins have come against the Wizards and Trail Blazers and New York does seem to have their number in the regular season. That being said, the Knicks will be without the aforementioned Randle and Anunoby and have been extremely rocky as of late, failing to capitalize on big games from its starters and struggling mightily in their non-Brunson minutes. But in a close call such as this one, I have to go with the Knicks and try to speak a win into existence. Knicks win 110-107 with a big bounceback game from Donte DiVincenzo.
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