Knicks 112, Heat 103: Scenes from some good old-fashioned New York grit

The Miami Heat have shown themselves to be a smarter, more adaptive, more disciplined team during this second-round playoff series. What bothered me most of all, however, was how much fight they showed through the first four games than our New York Knicks. Miami got to every loose ball, grabbed every key rebound, while the guys in orange and blue seemed to treat this series like a pre-season home-and-home.

That certainly wasn’t the case on Wednesday night. With their backs up against the wall, the Knicks finally showed the gumption we’ve seen from them in the regular season. They trailed by 10 in the first quarter, but quickly rallied to take the lead in the second. When Miami fought back, whittling a 19-point third-quarter lead down to just three with plenty of time remaining in the fourth, the Knicks did not wilt.

Though he wasn’t the star of the game — that honor goes to Jalen Brunson and his 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists — the biggest play of the night belonged to Quentin Grimes. Like Brunson, Grimes played all 48 minutes tonight. Most of that time, he was hounding Heat superstar Jimmy Butler. And when Grimes came up hobbling after yet another questionable screen from Bam Adebayo, it looked like Butler would get the best of him. What Grime did next, on basically one leg, almost defies belief. Check the footage.

Look, the Knicks probably won’t win in Miami in Game 6. Their key guys have to be exhausted after this win. But they defended MSG one last time and showed their character.

Overall, it was a fun game. I certainly wouldn’t mind two more just like it.

Miranda will have your recap.