Knicks Find Towns, Threes In Win Over Heat
There was finally truth in advertising for the New York Knicks on Wednesday night in South Beach.
The new-look Knicks lived up to the reputation they garnered this offseason, as headliners old and new paved the way to a 116-107 victory over the Miami Heat that saw them overcome a deficit that reached as high as 13.
Playing in front of a vocal, pro-New York crowd at Kaseya Center, the Knicks (2-2) made things right against an old enemy: having put up only 27 shots total over his first three showings as a Manhattanite, Towns put up 24, sinking 17 en route to a 44-point showing. Towns' scoring, the third-best by any player in this very young NBA season (six short of Paolo Banchero's 50 for Orlando on Monday), also earned his third straight double-double with 12 rebounds.
Towns earned a dozen of that tally off four three-pointers, which proved contagious: dead-last in three-point tries entering Wednesday's game, each of the Knicks' five starters sank at least two, with Mikal Bridges tying Towns with a quartet. The Knicks were 18-of-40 overall with Miles McBride adding a pair off the bench.
Elsewhere, Jalen Brunson posted a season-best nine assists after expressing frustration that he wasn't able to feed Towns during his early inactivity. Brunson also scored 20 points, hitting half of his last 10 after going 1-of-8 in the first two-plus periods.
The Knicks' road trip continues on Friday night when they face the Detroit Pistons (7 p.m. ET, MSG).