Knicks’ ‘Just Incredible’ Jalen Brunson Beats Heat in Game 5, New York Stays Alive

The New York Knicks staved off elimination at Madison Square Garden thanks to brilliant backcourt efforts from Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett that scorched the Miami Heat.

Jalen Brunson was denied a spot on one of the All-NBA Teams upon their unveiling on Wednesday night. A sweeter reward awaited him at Madison Square Garden: at least one more game in the 2022-23 NBA Playoffs. 

Another sterling effort from Brunson extended the New York Knicks' season by at least one more game, as the primary point guard literally went the distance in a gutsy 112-103 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. With the win, the Knicks forced a sixth game in the best-of-seven set, as the matchup will return to Miami on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). 

“What can you say about the guy? He's just an incredible all-around player,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said of his gutsy star.

Brunson played all 48 minutes and scored 38 points, helping the Knicks build a lead that reached as high as 19 in the second half before staving off a fast and furious Miami comeback. He also put up nine rebounds and seven assists, becoming the first New York to score at least 35 while dishing out and hauling in at least seven since Walt "Clyde" Frazier's historic showing in the decisive seventh of the 1970 NBA Finals that gave the Knicks the first of two championships. 

The primary point guard and Quentin Grimes made history by becoming the first pair of Knicks to play every minute of a single playoff game since Frazier and Jerry Lucas did so in 1972. 

Backing Brunson was a 26-point tally for RJ Barrett and 24 more for Julius Randle, who sank each of his final six shots after starting 1-of-7.

The Knicks finally created some hardwood synergy on Wednesday night, succeeding on both sides of the ball. Elimination seemed forthcoming when they only scored 14 points in the opening frame en route to a 10-point deficit but they put 36 in the second to re-establish their footing. Momentum shifted for good when Randle sank a triple just before the halftime work that gave the Knicks a lead that proved permanent.

Miami missed out on a chance to clinch its third Eastern Conference Finals visit in four years despite a sterling effort from its reserves: Duncan Robinson (5-of-10), Kyle Lowry, and Caleb Martin hit nine of the Heat's 13 successful triple attempts with starter Max Strus hitting the remaining four. Jimmy Butler once again led the South Floridians in scoring but was held to only 19 points in defeat. 

Big runs helped the Knicks build a solid foundation on the scoreboard: they hit their first seven attempts from the field in the second quarter, which was partly negated by Miami building their own 10-point lead after the first. In a situation that mirrored Game 4, the Heat began to drain the Knicks' will early on by extending their possessions through offensive rebounds: nine of their first 16 points were scored via second-chance opportunities.

But the Knicks cleaned up their interior act from there on out: they wound up taking the rebounding battle 50-36 and six different New Yorkers grabbed at least five boards. An offensive rebound, in fact, placed permanent momentum in their corner.

With Miami having shrunk the lead to two thanks primarily to their outside shooting with just over two minutes remaining, Isaiah Hartenstein, in the game while Mitchell Robinson sat after the Heat tried to exploit his weakness at the foul line, put back in an RJ Barrett miss that send MSG into hysterics and kicked off one final run, a 9-2 capper over the last 2:07 that sealed the deal. 

Isaiah Hartenstein's clutch putback 😤pic.twitter.com/DBAWuLLHIC

— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) May 11, 2023

While the Knicks' performance at the foul line continued to leave something to be desired (29-of-40), they hit them when they had to: the Heat targeted Robinson, coming off a career-worst 48 percent effort from the foul line this season, for intentional fouls to support their comeback effort, but he went on to sink 4-of-6 from the line in the fourth quarter. He also united with Hartenstein to haul in nine offensive rebounds and led the team with 11.

Though the Knicks are 0-14 all-time when they've trailed 3-1 in a series, it'd be in character for a matchup with Miami (who, in contrast, is 14-0 when they hold such a lead) to go the distance. Only the most recent get-together in 2012 didn't go the full five or seven-game length, with the Knicks winning the last set of seven in the 2000 conference semifinals.  

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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