After the Miami Heat won two straight against the Detroit Pistons, the streak has ended at the hands of the New York Knicks Wednesday night at Kaseya Center, 116-107. As the Heat look to contend with a tough Eastern Conference this season, this was a step backwards as it was a thrilling game from start to finish, but one that the home team couldn't finish.
Tyler Herro led the way with 34 points, seven assists, and five rebounds as the rest of the starting lineup was in double digits as Terry Rozier had 16, Jimmy Butler had 15, Bam Adebayo had 11, and Nikola Jovic had 10.
For the Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns was sensational with 44 points and 12 rebounds where Jalen Brunson had 22 points and nine assists.
Here are three takeaways from the Heat's loss to the Knicks:
Tyler Herro leads Heat in an all-around impressive first half vs. Knicks
There is no doubt that this was a highly anticipated matchup for the Heat as they are facing a Knicks team in the East that has reloaded with huge pieces such as Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges to go along with Jalen Brunson and others. Towns would make an impact in the first half with 24 first half points as Adebayo had three fouls in the time frame, meaning Thomas Bryant was the primary defender.
Still, New York relies on Brunson to be their main engine, but he was stalled with four points in the first half as the team as a whole shot 41.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from deep. The Heat however had a solid first half shooting 50 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arch.
Herro continues his impressive start to the season
They were led by the star guard in Herro who while some people argued about his role, he's been impressing in the early part of the season as it was on display Wednesday night scoring 20 points on seven for 11 shooting. Miami would also get some good minutes from Jaime Jaquez Jr. who scored seven in the half along with seven rebounds and four assists, leading to a +13.
The Heat's starting lineup besides Herro would combine for 18 points as Butler (six) didn't score until the second quarter and Adebayo (4) was in foul trouble as said before. Rozier would score three points on one for six shooting after a 20 point performance Monday against the Pistons.
All in all, it was a statement of a half for Miami reminding people that they are still around hanging in the East since New York's offseason moves were highlighted. They'll have keep up the solid play on both ends to finish this one out.
Wobbly second half for Heat, Knicks find their stride
The Heat started off in the right direction to start the second half as Adebayo scored the first six points for the team where overall, Miami would build their lead by as much as 13 points. It would turn around for the Knicks as they went on a 11-0 run that got them back the lead, resulting a 32-point frame compared to the home team's 22.
New York is a team that can easily flip on a switch due to their offensive talent as while they kept Brunson in check in the first 24 minutes, he found a little bit of his stride in the third period scoring 10. Same goes for Bridges who was an integral part of the aforementioned run scoring five straight points that found the Knicks in rhythm as in the quarter, they shot 57.1 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from deep.
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As for the Heat, they shot 31.8 percent from the field and three for 10 from three-point range. It would be more of an even contest in the fourth quarter as there was a hectic back and forth between both squads midway into it. Rozier, who had a frustrating game from the first to third quarter scoring three points on one for nine shooting, turned it around in the fourth and had 10 more points when there was just under six left in the period.
However, the Knicks would keep up their offensive fortitude as they finished the period with 29 points strong as Miami couldn't keep up.
Interesting travel plans for Heat after Knicks loss
With the result of Wednesday night's game, the Heat now get to travel to Mexico to take on the Washington Wizards to hopefully make their mark and bounce back after a thrilling, but disappointing outing against the Knicks. Miami is 2-2 where the two wins were against teams like the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons, squads that they should have beat, but the losses were against Eastern Conference teams looking to make a statement.
While it's good to see Miami win the games they should early, they had two chances against the Orlando Magic and New York Wednesday night to show people within the basketball world that they still belong at top dogs in the East. They have not done so yet, but will still look to turn the ship around positively against Washington Saturday night to start another hopeful streak
