NBA Highlights - NBA Playoffs 2023 - Knicks VS Heats
Box score
Team | Field Goals | 3-Point FGs | Free Throws | Personal Fouls | Total Rebounds | Offensive Rebounds | Turn overs | Points Off Turnovers | Fast Break Points | Points in the Paints |
NYK | 27/71 38.0% | 10/35 28.6% | 28/32 87.5% | 22 | 41 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
MIA | 33/82 40.2% | 7/27 25.9% | 23/25 92.0% | 22 | 40 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 38 |
Game Highlight
News
The Miami team secures their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals by defeating New York in a home game.
In the next round, The Heat will compete against either Boston or Philadelphia.
The Miami Heat have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals by winning 96-92 against the New York Knicks in Game 6 of their second-round series. The game was closely contested, and although the Knicks initially led, they failed to score on a crucial possession with less than a minute left, allowing the Heat to take the lead and secure their win with successful free throws.
Jalen Brunson played an outstanding game, scoring 41 points on 14-of-22 shooting, but the rest of the Knicks team didn't provide sufficient support, making only 13 field goals throughout the match. Interestingly, the Heat became the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to reach the conference finals, with the first team being the 1999 Knicks who had beaten the Heat on their way to the finals. The Knicks will now have to reflect on missed opportunities in the series, while the Heat will wait to face the winner of Sunday's Game 7 between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.
There are several key takeaways from their series victory that stand out.
"Reversing the situation."
The Miami Heat of the 2022-23 NBA season have become only the second No. 8 seed in league history to make it to the conference finals, the first being the 1999 New York Knicks. Interestingly, the Knicks had defeated the Heat in the first round of the 1999 playoffs, causing the Heat to become only the second No. 1 seed in NBA history to lose a first-round series up to that point. This defeat had a lasting impact on the Heat and became a blemish that they have had to bear.
Although winning this current series against the Knicks doesn't fully make up for that earlier loss, it was still a significant accomplishment. Even though the Knicks were the favorites, they were not a No. 1 seed, and this matchup was in the second round. It had been more than a decade since these two teams faced off in the postseason, and many of the key individuals in both organizations remain the same, including Pat Riley, who is still leading the Heat's front office. Tom Thibodeau, who was an assistant coach for the Knicks in 1999, added to the nostalgia factor of the series, which had the old-school, ultra-physical feel of the classic Knicks-Heat matchups. This win was therefore especially satisfying for the Heat.
Jalen Brunson didn't receive enough support from the Knicks.
The most striking statistic of Game 6 was that Jalen Brunson outperformed his entire supporting cast combined, making 14 field goals compared to their 13. Although his teammate Julius Randle received All-NBA honors over Brunson, he only made 3 out of 14 shots in the game and 30 out of 73 shots for the entire series. The Knicks made a total of 10 three-pointers in the game, but half of them were made by Brunson alone. In the fourth quarter, the Knicks were unable to make a field goal until more than six minutes had elapsed.
The Knicks relied heavily on Brunson, which was a tall order, especially considering that he had played 48 minutes in Game 5 just two days earlier. Despite frequently being double-teamed when he had the ball, Brunson was still able to perform well. However, the Miami defense had been designed to stop Brunson and force his teammates to step up, but they couldn't take advantage of the opportunities he created. This highlighted the team's urgent need for a second star player. Although Randle had made the All-NBA team, he was not that player.
There was a mismatch in coaching.
Despite winning two Coach of the Year awards, Tom Thibodeau was outmatched by Erik Spoelstra in the recent Knicks-Heat playoff series. Spoelstra, a two-time champion coach, has never won the award, which is a strange historical quirk. Thibodeau has reached the playoffs eight times but has lost as a higher seed in four different playoff series. In this series, Thibodeau made two poor decisions, which may have cost the Knicks the series. In Game 1, he left a clearly injured Jimmy Butler on the floor, and in Game 6, he removed Brunson, Randle, and Grimes from the game simultaneously, depriving the team of their entire offense. Thibodeau has consistently bungled basic game management in the postseason, which is a flaw that the Knicks will have to address if they plan to contend for a championship.
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