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The Miami Heat are now one game away from advancing to their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. A 27-point outing from Jimmy Butler and 23 points from Bam Adebayo were enough to outpace the New York Knicks triumvirate of Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett and Julius Randle. The close win was in part due to the production Miami got from its second unit, as well as the second-chance opportunities they got from offensive rebounds which they won by a 13-8 margin. The Knicks will have to figure out a way to extend this series, otherwise their season will be over Wednesday night.

Ahead of the Knicks-Heat Game 5 matchup here's everything you need to know.

New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat Game 5

  • Date: Wednesday, May 10 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: Madison Square Garden -- New York City
  • TV channel: TNT | Live stream: TNT app
  • Odds: Knicks -3.5; O/U 209.5 (via Caesars Sportsbook)

Storylines

Knicks: Well, that escalated quickly. The Knicks find themselves on the verge of elimination, and while they've got several guys banged up right now including Brunson and Immanuel Quickley, we should've known how the rest of this series was going to play out after they narrowly managed to beat the Heat without Jimmy Butler in Game 2. They don't have enough quality shooters to make a difference in this series, and that's with Miami shooting just 33.3% from deep in Game 4. Brunson has been excellent, but when your second-best player in Julius Randle is turning the ball over six times in a game, that's not going to bode well for you. The Knicks have to hope they can muster up enough motivation for Game 5 at home to extend this series, but even with three players scoring 20+ points in Game 4, it just wasn't enough.

Heat: No one, and I mean no one, would've predicted that the Heat would knock off the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, and now be one game away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Seems like a big win for the investors of "HEAT culture." Butler has been sensational this series, and Game 4 featured a peak Bam Adebayo performance. What's really proven to be a difference maker in this series is Miami's depth vs. New York's lack thereof. As long as the Heat keep getting quality production out of Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin on the bench, then I don't see them losing the next game.

Prediction

The fans inside Madison Square Garden should give the Knicks a jolt of much-needed energy, and I wouldn't be surprised if they feed off that to force a Game 6. However, Butler and company have already proven they can walk into MSG and silence the crowd. So I'm rolling with a Heat team that looks like one of the toughest outs in the playoffs right now. The pick: Heat +3.5