76ers Playoff Watch: Knicks, Heat Complete Upsets to Advance

The Miami Heat and the New York Knicks are moving on.

Wednesday night’s slate of Eastern Conference playoff games was an eventful one. First, the Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the New York Knicks for Game 5. 

Although the Cavaliers entered the 2023 NBA Playoffs seeded slightly higher than the Knicks, New York continued to prove they were the hotter team heading into the postseason, and their regular season success against the Cavs was no fluke.

Heading into the Game 5 matchup on the road, the Knicks held a 3-1 lead over the Cavs. Although Cleveland was fighting for its season, New York controlled the game from the start.

By halftime, the Knicks held a ten-point lead. The Cavaliers trailed by as many as 16 points throughout the first two quarters of action and could never find themselves out in front.

That was the trend for the remainder of the game. In the second half, the Cavaliers put up a much better fight, but the Knicks’ first-half success, which featured a comfortable lead, allowed them to remain in control throughout the entire night. 

By the end of the game, the Knicks had defeated the Cavaliers 106-95. Jalen Brunson led the way with 23 points, while RJ Barrett was right behind him with 21 points on 7-13 shooting from the field. The young guard Immanuel Quickley had himself a solid performance off the bench, accounting for 19 points in 29 minutes.

With a Game 5 victory, the New York Knicks eliminated the Cavs and advanced past the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks

The Miami Heat did the unthinkable. After struggling to beat the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the NBA Play-In Tournament, the Heat were one loss away from getting eliminated from making the playoffs. Fortunately, the Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls to crack the eighth seed.

Many assumed that would be the end of Miami’s run right there, as they were set to face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the top-seeded Bucks. But Jimmy Butler and company had different plans.

Milwaukee was unlucky from the jump, as they lost Antetokounmpo in the first quarter of Game 1 to a back injury. Miami found themselves in a difficult predicament when they lost Tyler Herro in the second quarter of Game 1 to a broken hand.

Herro wouldn’t return to the court in the first-round series. Antetokounmpo eventually did, but not without missing games. The second and third outings did not feature Antetokounmpo. During that time, the Bucks and the Heat each picked up a win.

Antetokounmpo returned to the floor with his Bucks trailing 1-2. At first, Milwaukee was in a good position to tie the series up in Game 4, but Jimmy Butler’s miraculous 56-point performance allowed the Heat to form a comeback and put the Bucks away for the third time in four games.

The Bucks had their backs against the wall at home in Milwaukee during Game 5. They had a slight lead going into halftime and entered the third quarter with a bang, outscoring the Heat by ten points and going up by as many as 16 points.

But once again, Butler and the Heat dominated in the fourth quarter. With 14 points on 60 percent shooting in seven minutes, Butler helped the Heat outscore the Bucks 32-16 in the fourth quarter. By the end of regulation, the game was tied at 118.

The Bucks and the Heat traded blows in overtime, but Milwaukee failed to execute when it mattered the most. With a 10-8 lead in the final period, the Heat put the Bucks away once and for all with a 128-126 victory. 

The Bucks and the Cavaliers were sent packing on Wednesday, while the Heat and the Knicks will meet on Sunday afternoon to begin their second-round matchup.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers will keep their attention on the Boston Celtics versus Atlanta Hawks series to find out their next opponent.