Miami Heat post statement victory over New York Knicks

MIAMI – The Miami Heat are one victory away from a second consecutive appearance in the Eastern Conference finals and third in four years, with three chances to close it out against the New York Knicks.

Moving to 4-0 at home in these NBA playoffs, the Heat held off the Knicks 109-101 Monday night at Kaseya Center, to go up 3-1 in these best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.

And so from a No. 8 playoff seed, the postseason roll continues after a stunning opening-round upset of the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.

“There was nothing easy about the regular season,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “There’s nothing easy about this postseason.”

With Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo leading the way, and with Max Strus providing the long ball when needed, the Heat held off the Knicks’ three-headed scoring combination of Jalen Brunson, R.J. Barrett and Julius Randle.

Butler closed with 27 points and 10 assists, with Adebayo finishing with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

“They’re top of the food chain in terms of two-way competitors,” Spoelstra said of Adebayo and Butler. “So we’re following them right now. They’re doing all the dirty work, and they’re doing all the glamorous work, too.”

Strus added 16 points, shooting 4 of 10 on 3-pointers.

Brunson led the Knicks with 32 points, with Barrett scoring 24 and Randle 20.

Game 5 is 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

With a win then, or in a Game 6 Friday in Miami or Game 7 next Monday in New York, if needed, and the Heat would advance to the conference finals to face either the Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers, with that Eastern Conference semifinal tied 2-2.

“We still have one more to get,” Spoelstra said.

Of the 277 teams to previously trail 3-1 in NBA playoff series, only 13 have come back to win the series. The Heat are 14-0 all-time when up 3-1 in best-of-seven series. The Knicks are 0-14 all-time when trailing 3-1 in best-of-seven series.

The victory moved Spoelstra to 103 playoff wins, the fourth most in NBA history with one team.

“We’re playing our best basketball at the best time of year.” Strus said.

Five Degrees of Heat from Monday’s game:

1. Closing time: The Heat led 31-30 after the first period, 56-48 at halftime and 90-81 going into the fourth quarter.

A potential turning point then came 61 seconds into the fourth, when Heat forward Caleb Martin was called for a Flagrant 1 foul on a Brunson 3-point attempt. Brunson converted the three free throws, drawing the Knicks with 91-84. The Knicks then also retained possession, but Brunson was off for a jumper on what could have been a five-point possession.

The Heat then moved into the bonus with 5:58 to play, allowing them to push their lead into double digits after New York had moved within six.

The Knicks later closed within 101-95, but Randle then fouled out with 3:08 to play.

From there, the Heat’s dominant fourth-quarter offensive rebounding put it away, allowing the Heat to close the game with 11 more shot attempts than the Knicks.

The Heat held the Knicks to 6-of-18 shooting in the fourth quarter, outrebounding the Knicks 17-8 in the period.

“I think our guys have wrapped our minds around that’s what this series is,” Spoelstra said.