The New York Knicks made it much tougher on themselves than they needed it to be but they managed to emerge from Tuesday night's Game 2 matchup against the Miami Heat with a 111-105 victory to even the series at 1-1. RJ Barrett got the Knicks going on the offensive end in the early going but it was Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle who helped finish things off to secure the victory and ensure New York will not travel to South Beach trailing by two games in the best-of-seven series.
Barrett, Brunson and Randle were fantastic for the Knicks as they combined for 79 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists to lead New York to a gutsy victory against an undermanned Heat team that fought as hard as they possibly could despite being without three regular rotation players -- Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo.
With the win, the series now moves to Miami for two more showdowns as Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
1. Clutch second half from Brunson
Every time I watch Brunson play I always think, I can't believe the Dallas Mavericks just let him walk to the Knicks. It truly is a remarkable example of fumbling the bag by a franchise that has reached critical levels of incompetence. But that's a discussion for a different day. Right now we're talking about Brunson leading his team to a crucial playoff win, while becoming the first Knicks player since Carmelo Anthony in 2013 to drop 30 points in a playoff game at Madison Square Garden. That's more of a reflection on how poorly the Knicks have been since Anthony was hooping at the Garden, but it's an impressive feat nonetheless.
It was a bounce back game of sorts for Brunson, who despite putting up 25 points in Game 1's loss, went 0 for 7 from 3-point range. Well, he flipped the script in Game 2, going 6 of 10 from deep and 10 of 19 from the field. He also finished with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. But as the header reads, Brunson did most of his damage in the second half, as 23 of his 30 points were after halftime. One of the most important buckets came with four minutes left, when Brunson drained a 3-pointer to give New York the lead for good.
When Randle, who for the most part had a solid night, started forcing shots in the second half, Brunson took it upon himself to be the calming presence the Knicks have long looked for in the backcourt. He can fill it up from just about everywhere on the floor, but nothing is ever forced. He's undersized but his strong center of gravity makes him a dangerous threat when he's driving to the rim. He once again proved he's worth every bit of that $104 million deal the Knicks signed him to last summer, and at this point that's starting to look like a real bargain.
2. Miami has to feel good about that loss
Obviously the Heat would've much rather taken a 2-0 series lead back to South Beach. However, Game 2 was always going to be an uphill battle without Jimmy Butler. Still, based on how close the contest was Miami should feel good about their prospects of winning this series as long as Butler returns for Game 3. The Heat had four players score in double figures, with Caleb Martin leading the way with 22 points and Gabe Vincent adding another 21. With the Knicks playing drop coverage for most of the game on Miami's pick-and-rolls, it gave Martin, Vincent and Max Strus a ton of space to get their shots off. Those shots were falling most of the night until New York changed its tactic and started getting up on screens.
The Knicks managed to escape with the win, but Miami didn't go away easily. Even down the stretch when Randle committed a mindless turnover inbounding the ball, it resulted in this Duncan Robinson made triple to cut the lead to two points:
That was an unforced error on Randle's part, but the Heat were draped all over the Knicks players making it difficult for the New York forward to inbound the ball anyway. You have to think that had Butler been available for Game 2, the Heat might've won that game down the stretch, especially given Butler's track record for stepping up in clutch time.
3. Butler's injury the biggest factor
With Game 3 not until Saturday, Butler has three full days to recover from what the team announced as a sprained ankle. He wasn't officially ruled out until shortly before Game 2, which means that he may be close to a return. If he's at 100%, then Miami should feel good about its chances to bounce back from Tuesday's loss. Butler impacts so many areas of the game on both ends of the floor, and with the defensive attention focused on him, it'll give guys like Strus, Martin and Vincent even more space to operate on the perimeter. We'll have to wait on the updates from the Heat regarding Butler's status ahead of Game 3, but I'm guessing he'll be ready to take the floor to try and lead his team to another win.