Sixth in the City; Heat Burned by Brunson as Knicks Win Again But Lose Randle Late
The Miami Heat were on fire in name only on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
South Beach became the latest victim of the New York Knicks' winning streak, which now stands a season-long six games following a 125-109 victory over the visiting Heat. With the win, New York (29-17) improved to 2-0 against the rival Heat in the season after they ended the latest metropolitan title run and also stands at 12-2 in the new calendar year.
Jalen Brunson paced the Knicks with 32 points in the win, reaching at least 30 points for the fifth time in his last six games. But while the Knicks emerged with an inspiring victory, they now hold their breath in the wake of an impending medical disaster involving their other headliner.
Vincent Carchietta, USA TODAY SPORTS
Julius Randle, earner of 19 points and nine rebounds over 32 minutes of action, left Saturday's game with just over four minutes remaining while the Knicks were putting the finishing touches on another double-figure win. Randle landed awkwardly atop Jaime Jaquez Jr. and rose in pain, clutching his shoulder as he was escorted to the Knicks' locker room.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in the aftermath that Randle suffered a dislocated right shoulder on the play but that subsequent x-rays "didn't show much damage." Wojnarowski also declared that Randle will undergo an MRI to determine further damage on Saturday night.
Randle's injury marred what was otherwise a sterling day for the Knicks, who bestowed their southeastern rivals a sixth consecutive loss. OG Anunoby scored 19 points while Josh Hart and Quentin Grimes united for 26 off the bench. Hart laid down several show-stopping dunks that sent The Garden into hysterics and the Knicks were a game-best plus-30 on the scoreboard while he was on the floor.
New York also enjoyed the return of Isaiah Hartenstein to the starting five on Saturday after two games off due to a sore Achilles. Hartenstein pulled in six rebounds on a limited 16-minute basis while one of his replacements, Precious Achiuwa, continued to flourish, earning double-figures in boards for the third time in four nights.
Miami (24-22) was in a somewhat celebratory mood with their roster being back at full strength: the rookie Jaquez was back in the lineup after a six-game departure while Kevin Love also returned after an illness. The Heat led by three after the opening period but struggled to keep up with the Knicks otherwise, as a Brunson triple at 4:32 left in the second quarter ignited an 18-8 run to close out the half and create a double-figure lead at intermission.
Miami erased several New York leads, including some of the double-figure variety, but the Knicks finally doused their comeback efforts by shooting 73 percent (13-of-18) in a final period they won by a 36-23 final.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 28 points while Bam Adebayo put up 12 points and 13 rebounds in a double-double tally. New York will head south to Miami this spring, playing their lone regular season game in Dade County on April 2.
In the meantime, the Knicks briefly hit the road on Monday when they face the woebegone Charlotte Hornets (7 p.m. ET, MSG).
