MIAMI — The Knicks knew they had to play harder, shoot straighter and defend tighter than they had in their woeful previous game against the Heat to have a chance to even up the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Even making those improvements wasn’t enough for the Knicks to pull out their most pivotal game of the season, however, pushing them into a 3-1 series hole and to the brink of elimination following a 109-101 loss Monday in Game 4 at Kaseya Center.
Tom Thibodeau’s team will get its first chance to extend the season Wednesday night at the Garden.
“Everything. Long story short,” Jalen Brunson said when asked what needs to change for Game 5. “We need to be better. I need to be better.
“My mindset I think, going forward, I think, we’re on the brink of elimination, so it’s everything you’ve got, that should be the mindset of everybody.”
Jimmy Butler fronted the Heat again with 27 points and 10 assists, while All-Star center Bam Adebayo enjoyed another dominant game inside against Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein, finishing with 23 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Knicks, who dominated the glass in the first round against Cleveland, were outrebounded 44-35, including 13-8 on the offensive boards.
“We gotta get a body on people,” Thibodeau said.
“Just maybe they want it more. I don’t know,” Julius Randle added. “That’s been who we are all year. Got to find a way to step up and make those plays, keep this season alive.”
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks vs. Heat NBA playoff series
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- Brunson’s heroic night spoiled by late turnover
The Knicks’ top three scorers at least picked up their offensive games after a horrendous combined showing in a blowout loss Saturday in Game 3, with Brunson posting 32 points with 11 assists in 44 minutes.
RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Randle added 20 on 8-for-13 shooting, although he did commit six of the Knicks’ 16 turnovers before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
Quentin Grimes was reinserted into the starting lineup in place of Josh Hart and finished with nine points for the Knicks, who played without slumping sixth man Immanuel Quickley (ankle).
Before the game, Brunson pointedly had said the Knicks needed to come out with higher intensity and desperation after the Heat had done so in Saturday’s blowout victory after dropping Game 2 at Madison Square Garden.
“We have to be ready from the jump. It has to be an emphasis. For us to be ready to go,” Brunson said. “There’s no time for mistakes or anything like that. We have to help each other out when things do happen on the court. So we have to be just ready to go from the jump ball, for the full 48 minutes.
Still, the game started with Randle committing an offensive foul, Barrett getting his shot rejected by Max Strus (16 points) and Robinson badly missing a put-back off an offensive rebound.
Meanwhile, Butler netted the first five points of the game on a trey and two free throws and the Heat grabbed a quick 7-2 lead. Two bad passes by Grimes and another by Randle led to a 17-11 Heat edge midway through the quarter.
Randle scored a team-high nine points, but Kyle Lowry’s left-elbow jumper just before the buzzer put the Heat up 31-30 after 12 minutes.
Brunson played the entire quarter, registering seven points and four assists, and he remained in the game to open the second, with Quickley sidelined. Miles McBride replaced him 2:06 into the period, but a 12-4 Heat run — punctuated by a driving dunk by Adebayo and a 3-pointer by Lowry — opened a nine-point lead.
A traditional three-point play by Adebayo off a foul by Robinson and a long trey by Strus made it a 10-point game with 3:13 left in the first half. Butler also rejected a Grimes dunk attempt in the closing minutes and Adebayo flushed another lob pass for a dunk as the Heat carried a 56-48 lead into intermission.
The Knicks continued to commit egregious turnovers in the third, including an errant pass by Barrett that resulted in a breakaway slam by Strus.
Following a successful challenge by Thibodeau, Barrett’s 3-pointer closed the gap to two with 7:07 left in the quarter.
Long-range conversions by Lowry, Strus and Caleb Martin keyed a 23-16 closing run as the Heat pushed their lead to 90-81 entering the final period.
Barrett knocked down a 3-pointer and added a driving layup to close the deficit to 95-89 with 7:34 remaining, but the Knicks got no closer than six the rest of the way.
“You gotta win four to win a series. So all we’re thinking about is, win the next game,” Thibodeau said. “Go quarter by quarter. … The next day we’ll worry about the next day. All we’re doing is thinking about the next game.”
