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Eight 'Em Up! Knicks Survive Heat Wave in South Beach

Getting it was far from easy but the New York Knicks have an eight-game winning streak for the second time this season.

Geoff Magliocchetti

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Randle. Julius Randle. 

Engaging in a de facto three-game playoff series through the month of March in a series that could help shape the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, the New York Knicks and Miami Heat's Friday night get-together lived up to the hype and then some.

A one-sided first half gave way to a thrilling second act, one that ended with a 122-120 score in the Knicks' favor, good for their eighth win in a row. Julius Randle reached the 40-point plateau for the fourth time this season with 43 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with what was originally ruled to be 0.7 seconds remaining.

Miami had a chance to steal a win or force an extra five minutes when four-tenths were added to the clock, but Mitchell Robinson stole Kevin Love's inbound pass to seal the deal. Combined with their eight-game winning streak from December, the Knicks (38-27) have earned multiple winning streaks of at least eight games in the same season since their last championship run in 1972-73. They're also 11 games over .500 for the first time since the penultimate game of 2020-21. 

Jalen Brunson survived an injury scare to score 25, including eight in the final frame. Immanuel Quickley had 21 off the bench.

Another brilliant opening delighted a Miami-Dade Arena crowd packed with Knicks fans, as Randle put in 20 alone in the first quarter as the Knicks built the foundation for what became a 15-point halftime lead. Miami fought back thanks primarily to 33 points from Jimmy Butler, 18 of which came at the foul line. The Heat foreshadowed the thrills to come by slicing the lead to as little as three by the final stages of the third (a period that saw Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo united for 23 points on 9-of-11 from the field) but an Isaiah Hartenstein double and a Quickley triple over the last 79 seconds seemed to restore order.

But the desperate Heat, trying to avoid going 1-4 in the post-All-Star slate, used triples of their own, these from Caleb Martin and Victor Oladipo right before the midway mark, setting the stage for a back-and-forth finale. The Knicks led by four with two minutes remaining before different heroes rose en route to Randle's final triple.

An Adebayo alley-oop from Herro and a Butler layup erased the lead before a different Randle triple, a successful and-one, put the Knicks back ahead. Two free throws from Herro, as well as his lay-up (coming on a fastbreak created by a Randle turnover), gave Miami the slim lead over a Knicks team relieved of timeouts with 23 seconds remaining.

Instant redemption awaited Randle: though hounded by a double-team and a Butler swipe that nearly knocked the ball out of bounds, Randle put up the fateful triple, one that not only secured the win but also tied his career-best with eight three-pointers. It also ignited a raucous celebration on the visitors' sidelines, one saw Randle accidentally barrel over head coach Tom Thibodeau in his euphoria.

New York and Miami (33-31) face off twice more this month, the next get-together slated for Mar. 22 in South Beach. Firmly amongst the Eastern Conference's top six automatic playoff qualifiers, the Knicks are 4.5 games up on the seventh-place Heat with 17 contests left to play. 

A busy metropolitan weekend wraps up on Sunday night when the Knicks face the Boston Celtics at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks

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