It was a familiar look of defeat in the eyes of Julius Randle. He had that same look when Trae Young went full-on villain on the Knicks in 2021. He pretty much had that same look the whole of last season.
Randle wasn’t wrong to look–and perhaps feel–that way in Game 2 of their series against the Miami Heat. Caleb Martin, who was interim Jimmy Butler, just knocked down yet another 3-pointer, giving the Heat a six-point lead with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.
That type of lead was in no way insurmountable, yet it definitely looked–and felt–that way with how things were going for the Knicks.
Without Butler’s leadership (and his automatic 20-plus-point effort), the Knicks could have built a big lead, Randle and Jalen Brunson could’ve checked out early in the fourth to rest their ailing ankles, and they could’ve easily cashed in a 1-1 result.
That’s never the case with the Heat. Somehow, Martin transformed into Jimmy Lite and Erik Spoelstra pulled the switch again to give his team a fighting chance despite the disadvantage.
The Heat came out firing immediately and the game plan was set: shoot the lights out in MSG. Up until that point with Martin’s third 3 of the night, the plan was working.
The Knicks called a timeout; their playoff life hanging in the balance. A switch flicked.
In the same manner that they shocked the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Knicks came out aggressive on the boards and put all their money on Jalen Brunson. And just like in the Cavs series, it worked.
The Knicks went on a 14-3 scoring run as Isaiah Hartenstein and Julius Randle crashed the boards to give Brunson and Josh Hart more chances to get buckets. Hart, representing No. 3 well for the New York faithful, tied the game at 96 with a corner 3, then later drained another 3 in the corner to give the Knicks a breathable four-point lead with less than two minutes remaining.
Hart was very Starks-like in those clutch moments, but his stat sheet showed something more interesting, more historic. He scored 14 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished nine assists–the first 10-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, and nine assists from a Knick in a playoff game since Walt Frazier did it in 1972.
The Knicks will be very tough to beat if they get that type of contribution from Hart, capped off by the steadiness of Brunson (30 points) and a healthy Randle (25 points, 12 rebounds). Even less talked about is the share of RJ Barrett, who didn’t get to close the game due to defensive matchup issues but dropped 24 points to keep the Knicks in there.
Now heading to South Beach for Game 3, the series is tied 1-1, and it has become a best-of-five. Butler is expected to suit up for the Heat, but so is Randle, who was absent in the Game 1 loss. Game 3 will be the first game both stars will be available at the same time, and if Games 1 and 2 were any indication, Game 3 will be an all-out war.
