RJ Barrett converted a go-ahead, three-point play with 1:59 left Friday night for the host New York Knicks, who stormed back from a 21-point, third-quarter deficit to beat the Miami Heat 100-98 and stave off elimination in the NBA in-season tournament.
Barrett and Jalen Brunson combined to score the final 13 points for the Knicks, who would have been eliminated from the in-season tournament with a loss. However, New York outscored the Heat 29-11 in the fourth to improve to 2-1 in East Group B play heading into a Tuesday night finale against the Charlotte Hornets.
The Heat, who mounted a 19-0 run to start the third quarter, are also 2-1 and will conclude East Group B play Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brunson had 24 points while Immanuel Quickley scored 20 points off the New York bench. Barrett finished with 18 points while Julius Randle (13 points) and Josh Hart (10 points) also got into double figures as the Knicks won for the seventh time in nine games overall.
Bam Adebayo, who missed the previous game with a bruised hip, posted 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who lost for just the second time in 11 games. Jimmy Butler scored a team-high 23 points while Jaime Jaquez Jr. contributed 15 points off the bench. Josh Richardson also had 15 points and Kyle Lowry added 10 points.
A 3-pointer by Quentin Grimes just before the first-half buzzer gave the Knicks a 51-50 lead before the Heat threatened to turn the game into a blowout in the third. Butler, Lowry and Haywood Highsmith each had five points during the 19-0 run, a span in which the Knicks were 0-for-7 from the field with three turnovers.
A free throw by Mitchell Robinson snapped the drought and sparked a 9-4 run for New York, but the Heat led by no fewer than 13 and by as many as 21 before ending the quarter ahead 87-71.
Richardson began the fourth with a long two-pointer before the Knicks scored 11 straight points. Richardson’s 3-pointer with 3:50 left extended the Heat’s lead to 96-87, but Miami didn’t hit another field goal.
After Barrett’s go-ahead sequence, Jaquez missed a turnaround shot and Brunson sank a 19-footer with 1:24 left.
Adebayo ended the Heat’s drought by sinking a pair of free throws with 15.1 seconds left to get Miami within one. Following a timeout, Brunson hit 1 of 2 free throws, and Butler missed a step-back 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
–Field Level Media