Free throws help win streak reach 3
If there is a saving grace from this most uneven start to the season for the Miami Heat, it might be that Jimmy Butler already has been through the worst of the pandemic protocols.
Because this team can’t afford to go many more games without Butler, and in Tuesday night’s 98-96 victory over the New York Knicks at AmericanAirlines Arena it couldn’t afford to go many minutes without Butler.
With the Heat lacking much in the way of scoring creativity on a night Derrick Rose arrived to deliver that for the Knicks, Erik Spoelstra’s team largely was reduced to the attack mode of Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Butler delivered with a 26-point effort that included shooting 13 of 15 from the foul line, as well as 10 assists and eight rebounds. For Adebayo it was almost all from the line on a night he shot 13 of 16 on free throws in a 19-point performance.
“It’s big for us when those guys are able to control the game like that,” guard Tyler Herro said.
It added up to the Heat’s’ first three-game winning streak of the season.
“Free throws were like gold in this game,” Spoelstra said. “This was more of a throwback Miami Heat-New York Knicks game from the ’90s. It was ground and pound, just try to get something downhill at the rim.”
Kelly Olynyk, who did most of his scoring early, added 20 points for the Heat, with Herro scoring 15, including a key late 3-pointer off of Butler’s 10th assist.
“I think we’re getting comfortable,” Butler said. “But in a good way, not in a bad way.”
The game ended when a driving attempt by the Knicks’ R.J. Barrett that could have tied it rimmed out with 3.5 seconds to play.
“That was a great win,” Adebayo said. “That’s one of those wins where you just find something in yourself.”
Five Degrees of Heat from Tuesday’s game:
1. Closing time: As was the case in the Heat’s 109-103 victory over the Knicks on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, it came down to playing from a tie midway through the final period, this time at 88-88 with 5 minutes, 17 seconds to play.
Later, it was 90-90 with 3:38 remaining.
From there, a 3-pointer from Olynyk put the Heat up 94-92, with 2:48 to play, with a goaltend by Adebayo giving Elfrid Payton a basket and the Knicks a 94-94 tie with 1:50 left.
Misses followed on both ends, but then, as he did two days earlier, Herro stepped up with a late 3-pointer to give the Heat a 97-94 lead with 64 seconds to play.
“I saw the opening [and] I felt like I had a good look,” Herro said. “Jimmy got me the ball on time.”
Said Butler: “I got so much confidence in him.”
An Immanuel Quickley driving layup with 48 seconds left got the Knicks back within 97-96.
A wild scramble followed on the other end, winding up with Butler going down hard on a foul by the Knicks’ Julius Randle.
That put Butler to the line with 6.2 seconds left, where he made only the second of his two free throws for a 98-96 lead.
“I just commend the group for the mental stability and toughness,” Spoelstra said.
Barrett’s driving attempting then bounded out as time expired.
“Just keep building,” Adebayo said. “This team’s built up grit.
“We’re getting to that point where we can win close games.”
2. Butler bakes: Butler again provided boosts when boosts were needed most, including a 3-pointer in the third period, after a 0-for-14 start from beyond the arc this season.
Included in Butler’s effort were 11 third-quarter points, when the rest of the Heat offense was stuck in the mud.
No sooner did Butler go out late in the third, however, than the Knicks pushed to a 10-point lead before taking an 82-76 advantage into the fourth.
“I get a good feel of what my guys need me to do,” Butler said. “I just got to make sure that we win.”
Butler and Adebayo (eight points) were the only Heat players to score in the third period.
The Heat outscored the Knicks by 25 in Butler’s 36:20 on the court.
“It’s always going to be different when he’s on the court and off the court,” Adebayo said. “He’s Jimmy Butler for a reason. He’s an All-Star.”
3. Olynyk early: Having settled in as the starting power forward, Olynyk was up to 17 points by halftime, at 6 of 7 from the field, including 5 of 6 on 3-pointers.
“It was just spacing the floor,” Olynyk said, “taking shots when they were there.”
Olynyk proved essential in the first half, with the Heat outscoring the Knicks by 22 when he was on the court. It was the third time in his career he converted five 3-pointers in a half.
“He does a lot for us,” Spoelstra said. “If you don’t account for him, he can put up 18, 20 points, 25 points on a single night.”
Olynyk’s season high entering Tuesday was 19 points on Jan. 4 in the home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“We need a win like this, a game like this,” Olynyk said. “We’ve done what we need to do to get Ws.”
4. Odd math: The Heat scored only eight points on two-point baskets in moving to a 57-55 halftime lead.
The Heat shot 11 of 21 on 3-pointers in the first but only 4 of 17 on two-point shots.
The first-half offense was rounded out by 16 of 18 shooting from the line, where the Heat outscored the Knicks 16-5 over the first two periods.
The Heat closed with only 12 two-point baskets.
5. Perfect fit: Rose, who closed with 14 points, passed his physical and cleared protocols in time to play as one of the Knicks’ first reserves.
He closed the first half with 10 points and three assists, taking charge of the Knicks offense upon entering.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said Monday’s acquisition of Rose from the Detroit Pistons made too much sense to bypass, even with the Knicks moving toward a younger core.
“I’ve always been partial to good players,” Thibodeau said. “So if someone is a good player, I’m interested.
“I think he’ll add a lot to our team. I know his character, I know the type of teammate he is. He’ll accept any role.”