The New York Knicks look to square their second round NBA playoff series when they visit the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the best-of-seven affair.
Game time is scheduled 7:30 p.m. ET at Kaseya Center on Biscayne Bay. The Heat are favored by -4.5 with the total set at 206/o-112.
New York Knicks (52-38, 1-2)
The Knicks trail the series 2-1 and would love nothing more than to square things up before heading home for Game 5.
These two teams met in the playoffs for four straight years, from 1997-2000. Those games featured lots of pushing and shoving, bad offense and tight defense. Saturday’s game looked very much like one of those Miami/New York slugfests from 25 years ago.
Heat vs Knicks highlights (1998) pic.twitter.com/ICakfNRGF4
— 90s NBA (@NBA90s) September 23, 2022
If they hope to knot the series at two wins apiece, the Knicks will have to shoot better than they did on Saturday.
New York hit just 34.1 percent of its shots, including 20.0 percent on 3-pointers (8-for-40). In addition, they were outscored in the paint 50-36 and were outrebounded 50-48.
Another problem for New York on Saturday was the poor shooting of its Big 3 as Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett combined to go 16-for-51 overall, including 2-for-17 on 3-pointers. Randle was also called out on Twitter for his lack of effort on the defensive end:
Julius Randle’s effort/intensity yesterday, especially on the defensive end, was … not sufficient to win a playoff game
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) May 7, 2023
There should be at least one other major concern for New York. Heat center Bam Adebayo dominated his two Knicks counterparts scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 36 minutes on Saturday. Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein combined for two points and eight rebounds in 40 minutes.
The Knicks will have to get back to their Game 2 form, when they shot 40 percent on 3-pointers (16-for-40).
The Heat prevailed despite shooting just 38.9 percent from the floor and 21.9 percent on 3-pointers (7-for-32).
Miami Heat (51-41, 2-1)
Job one for the Knicks is to try and slow down Jimmy Butler, who has scored at least 25 points in nine straight playoff games.
Jimmy Butler ends the Knicks' 8-0 run by hitting the baseline jumper 😤pic.twitter.com/JqKxJDbkxI
— Heat Nation (@HeatNationCP) May 6, 2023
Butler missed Game 2 in this series due to a sprained right ankle. In the two games he has played, he is averaging 26.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
He looked plenty healthy on this breakaway:
Jimmy Butler dunk#Knicks 16 #Heat 27 1sᴛ pic.twitter.com/1DTMB6XHd0
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) May 6, 2023
Butler has also made an impact at the charity stripe. In the two games in which he’s played, he’s 19 of 22 from the free throw line (86.4 percent). In addition, he’s shooting 45.9 percent from the field (17-of-37).
He continues to be the story of this series. And Butler is the unquestioned leader for Miami, in its quest to go from 8th seed to Eastern Conference finalist.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
