Finally back in the win column.
SHOP
Thanks to a great second half, the HEAT snapped a six-game losing streak and defeated the Knicks 98-88 Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
And naturally, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were a big reason why.
Let’s get right into their performances, shall we?
1. Sleeve Jimmy Changes The Game
After Miami had a rather pedestrian first half, Butler put the pedal to the metal in the third to turn things around.
Seriously, he dropped 15 points in the period to help the HEAT seize control.
For a perfect example of just how much he was cookin’, take a look at this awesome drive and left-handed scoop over Julius Randle late in the quarter:
Oh yeah, he also put the finishing touches on the game with this alley-oop jam courtesy of Andre Iguodala’s elite hands and Tyler Herro’s pinpoint lob:
Watch out for Sleeve Jimmy.
When it was all said and done, Butler tallied a game-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 shooting from the line, a game-high six assists, five boards and a block.
2. Bam Takes Over Late
In each of the last two games, Adebayo played really well down the stretch, but it was largely forgotten since Miami didn’t come out on top.
This time, it was different.
As usual, Adebayo was everywhere defensively, both on his primary covers in Randle and Taj Gibson and on RJ Barrett and others on traps, switches and help situations.
Of course, he also scored a game-high 10 points in the fourth, including these back-to-back buckets early in the period:
Gotta love it.
In all, Adebayo amassed 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting, a game-high 17 rebounds, four assists, a team-high two blocks, one steal and a plus-10 rating.
3. Duncan Stays Sharp
Like Butler, Duncan Robinson picked things up in the third quarter and helped swing momentum in Miami’s favor.
And while he did his usual work from downtown and hit this crazy turnaround three with Barrett draped all over him…
…he also made some nice plays off the bounce and competed very hard defensively all evening.
Robinson finished with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-9 from deep, two rebounds, one assist, one steal and a game-high plus-26 rating.
Other Takeaways:
-Herro also dialed long distance and ended up with 18 points (seven in the fourth) on 6-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, four assists, three rebounds and one steal.
-Nemanja Bjelica made his HEAT debut and accumulated one rebound in his 5:02 of action.
Game Notes:
-Udonis Haslem and KZ Okpala (health and safety protocols) were inactive.
-Kendrick Nunn (right ankle sprain) and Victor Oladipo (head cold) were active scratches.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will travel to Indiana to face the Pacers on Wednesday at 7PM. From there, Miami will head home to host the Warriors on Thursday at 8PM. Tickets for that game against Golden State can be found here.