Scenes from Rozier’s big night spelling a third-straight loss

The New York Knicks (44-31) squeaked out a two-point victory in their first season matchup with the Miami Heat (42-33), and won more handily in the second, 125-109. Tonight at the Kaseya Center, in their final meeting of the season, playoff seeding was on the line. Miami has been hitting their stride of late, though, and the Knicks are running out of guys.

Both teams started strong, but the Heat pulled ahead with superior shooting and rebounding to lead 34-22 at the end of Q1. Despite a brief rally by the Knicks, with solid contributions from Miles McBride, Donte DiVincenzo, and Bojan Bogdanovic, Miami’s Terry Rozier and Jimmy Butler powered the Heat to a 58-43 halftime advantage. Post-intermission, New York showed signs of life—including a late-game tie—but Rozier continued his impressive performance to hand New York their third consecutive loss, 109-99.

The teams combined for 32 turnovers in this ugly affair. For the Heat, Rozier finished with 34 points on 10-of-15 shooting (including eight triples) and Jimmy Butler chimed in with 17 points. On the other side, DiVincenzo scored 31 points and grabbed four steals while shooting 11-of-21 from the floor, and Deuce contributed 24 on 9-of-16. Jalen Brunson lent 20 points on 5-of-7 while looking tired for most of the night, and Bojan Bogdanovic scored 16 off the bench.

‘Twas another painful loss, especially since it dropped the Knicks to fifth in the Eastern Conference. Seven games remain. Reinforcements, wherefore art thou?

First Half

Both teams made four of their first six field goals. After that, the Knicks hit only three of thirteen attempts and played mostly flimsy defense while Miami chugged along. The Heat sank 7-of-13 three-point attempts In the quarter, compared to New York’s 3-of-11. The Flaming Neons outworked the Bockers on the glass, too, so it was no great shock when their lead reached a dozen points.

In their last meeting, Jaime Jaquez, Jr. undercut an airborne Julius Randle who promptly dislocated his shoulder. You can always count on Miami’s ‘inadvertent’ contact.

New York entered the second period down 34-22. They kicked off the quarter with a 14-8 run, during which Bojan Bogdanovic contributed seven points off the bench. Miami responded with six unanswered, however, and soon coasted back to a double-digit lead. The score at intermission was 58-43.

After committing two turnovers in the first period, New York coughed up the rock six times in the second. They were out-rebounded 25-19 in the half. Miles McBride and Donte DiVincenzo scored 12-first-half points apiece, but Jalen Brunson, fresh off being named Employee of the Month, had managed a quiet six points on 25% shooting. For the Heat, Terry Rozier put up 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and Jimmy Butler added 13. To win the second half—and the game—the torpid Knicks would need to improve upon their 37% shooting from the floor.

Second Half

Rozier continued to have a hot touch after halftime, recording his most points as a member of the Miami Heat. Jalen Brunson started to show stronger signs of life, but the short-handed Knicks lacked creativity on offense. After a great exertion of effort, a DiVincenzo triple and a dunk by Deuce finally brought them within single digits late in the period. Working that hard to still be down by eight? The prospects of rallying for a win seemed slim.

New York started the fourth down 83-73. A 15-9 run, including triples from Deuce and Donte, had sliced the differential to four with just under six minutes remaining. Knocking on the door, Thibs went with a lineup of Brunson, McBride, Josh Hart, Bogey, and Precious Achiuwa—and the gamble paid dividends. During this stretch, Bojan swished five points and Precious timed his jump perfectly to tip in this offensive rebound:

In a flash, however, the Heat were back up by eight due to Rozier free-throws, a Butler bucket, and a questionable tip-in by Bam Adebayo. A foolish Caleb Martin foul gave DiVincenzo an And1 and Knicks fans hope in a rally. Not so fast. Bam made an 11-footer with a minute to go and the curtain began its miserable descent. Fittingly, Rozier swished a three-pointer to finish off our heroes and complete his best night as a Heater. Heater? Is that what those bastards call themselves? Bah, I don’t care. Losing sucks.

Up Next

Back to MSG for a clash with the Kings on Thursday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score