Although the HEAT had their moments here and there, they couldn’t make enough plays late in a 124-121 loss to the Knicks Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Let’s take a look at some positives.
1. JJ Brings It
Simply put, James Johnson showed maximum effort on both ends of the floor in New York.
In addition to coming through with some nice takes to the rack, Johnson also drilled all three of his treys, including this clutch one late in the fourth:
Thanks to his proficiency from deep on Sunday, JJ has now hit his last seven threes.
When it was all said and done, Johnson amassed 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting, four rebounds and a block.
2. Nunn Sharp Throughout
While Kendrick Nunn really shined in a nine-point third quarter, his best two-way sequence came late in the first half.
Crafty.
As a whole, the rookie scored from pretty much everywhere and also showed quick hands on the defensive end.
Nunn finished with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, two rebounds, one assist, one block and that steal above.
3. Butler Goes Off Early
Jimmy Butler remained on the attack and led all players with 17 points before the break.
In particular, he mixed in some wise post-ups on mismatches with his usual drives to the bucket.
For a perfect example of the former, check out this play late in the first quarter:
Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite replicate that production in the second half.
In all, Butler accumulated 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 9-of-11 from the line, a game-high 10 boards, a game-high six assists and a block.
Other Takeaways:
-Bam Adebayo finished some tough plays against Taj Gibson, but nothing matches this bucket in the third quarter where he “mossed” Randle and slammed it home:
Adebayo ended up with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, six rebounds and five assists.
-Tyler Herro kept up his late-game scoring prowess with a team-high eight points in the fourth and concluded the contest with 15 points, four rebounds and an assist.
Game Note:
-KZ Okpala (G League - On Assignment), Gabe Vincent (G League - Two-Way) and Justise Winslow (Lower Back Bone Bruise) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will finally head home to prepare for their matchup with the Spurs on Wednesday at 7:30PM. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.