2023-05-11 03:03:04
Another battle won by Tom Thibodeau’s battalion to stay alive in this trench warfare! Defense, clumsiness and a coquard for Julius Randle at the start of the match, in short, a pure Eastern Conference semi-final!
The house stats of the New York revolt are right here!
From the start of the match we are brought back to the 90s: New York only scored 14 points in the first quarter, with little movement in attack and a lot of isolations, like a forceful Julius Randle who started with a 1/7 shooting. When we add to that a few lost balls, we quickly arrive at a logical domination of the opponent. Dynamic attack with play without the ball and the search for shifts, two quite (very) different offensive backgrounds. But Miami only finished this first round with a 10-point lead (24-14) due to overall clumsiness in shooting. Where Coach Spoelstra’s men make the difference is by dominating the offensive rebound (13 points out of 24 from their second chances!).
But New York comes back very strong in the second quarter by inflicting a 17-2 entry in Miami : without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the attack lacks initiation to create this first spark. Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett run the shop with big offensive responsibilities and efficiency. On the Heat side, we found colors in attack when Butler and Bam returned: a cleaner shot selection with well-created baskets. Unfortunately, impossible to convert outside shots for them and even wide open, Miami shoots at… 3/19 from 3-pointers in the first half.
Back from the locker room, the Knicks announce the color from the outset: much more fluid attack thanks to a creative Julius Randle who causes open shots for the friends. With a Heat much less present in intensity, the Knicks take off by igniting the Garden with several 3-points and a gap which then rises to +19! But Miami will stay in contact by finding the address and taking advantage of some loss of ball from New York. “Only” -10 at the end of the third quarter, opening of a promising fourth quarter which announces a game far from over.
Good news at that time, we are entitled to an overall increase in the offensive level : more pace, better shots taken and 3-point bomblets in all directions. The Heat nibbles away to come back to 4 small points four minutes from the end. Erik Spoelstra even tempts us with a hack-a-Robinson before the money time but Mitchell responds with a 2/2 on the line, if it was us we would have clearly dabbed in front of the Heat coach. A technique that still made Thibodeau sweat enough to bring Hartenstein back while waiting for the last two minutes, but in the end the Knicks managed their end of the game well with several crucial defensive stops and well-provoked whistles: victory at the Garden, with notably a Jalen Brunson XXL in shorts size: 38 points at 12/22 in shooting, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a nice 10/12 in free throws!
Statistical tribute to the Knicks’ offensive triplet since Brunson, Randle and Barrett combine 88 points! On the other side, even though Jimmy Butler had a full game (19 points at 5/12 shooting, 7 rebounds and 9 assists), he missed the Heat in some offensive sequences, at least his ability to raise his level. game at the right time.
The Knicks therefore refuse to capitulate by forcing Miami to finish the job at home. Can they bring the show back to Madison Square Garden? Beware all the same of Jimmy Butler who might get angry, and head to Florida for a Game 6 which will take place on the night of Friday to Saturday!
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#Heat #York #pulls #elbows #Miami
