The Miami Heat once again dominate the New York Knicks and edge closer to the conference finals

Seeded number 8 in the East, the Miami Heat is only one victory away from achieving the feat of reaching the Conference final. Monday night at home, the Floridians beat the New York Knicks for the second time in a row (109-101) after a tight, intense match that they always kept in hand, even when they missed twelve of their first fifteen shots in the last period (37th-44th). Over that span, the Knicks were only able to close the gap by three units (from 90-81 to 99-93), largely due to their p***ivity under rebounds and on live balls. a recurring theme throughout the evening. Miami finished the game with a +9 rebounding record (44, including 13 offensive rebounds, to 35).

33

This is the cumulative number of seconds that New York led in games 3 and 4, played in Miami, in this series. The Knicks only had the advantage twice, each time briefly, in the first quarter of Game 4.

The fate of the match was then decided when Julius Randle, a little more prominent than in the previous match (20 points, 9 rebounds, 3 ***ists on Monday), was forced to leave the park for his sixth foul (45th), offensive. With a Mitchell Robinson still under the extinguisher (6 points and 7 rebounds in 33 minutes), the Knicks no longer had the necessary strength to reverse the situation, wasting the big game of Jalen Brunson who accumulated 32 points, 11 ***ists and 4 rebounds.

On the Miami Heat side, the essential Jimmy Butler again led the charge with 27 points, 10 ***ists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He was perfectly supported by a Bam Adebayo bringing a big physical presence, signing a solid double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Max Strus himself scored 16 points while the bench was decisive with 32 points (including 15 for Kyle Lowry) against only 10 units from the Knicks substitutes.

“I have a job to do and I know we can do it”warned Butler about Game 5, in New York on Wednesday night, when Miami could become the second seeded number 8 to reach the last four of the NBA season after the … Knicks in 1999 (loss in the final against San Antonio Spurs). “The only thing we think about is the next game, replied Tom Thibodeau, the New York coach. Win the first quarter, the second, the third, the fourth. And after that, we’ll think about the next day. » The situation is still desperate for the Knicks. In their history, 14 times they have been down 3 to 1 in a series and each time they have been eliminated. As for the Heat, they led 3-1 14 times and always went to the next round.