The New York Knicks bounced back nicely in their first game since their five-game West Coast trip, dominating the Miami Heat at home 116-95. New York improves to 43-24 on the year while Miami has dropped eight consecutive games and is now 29-39.
A dominant second half propelled the Knicks to a win
The Knicks got off to an incredibly slow start in this one, as they found themselves down 12-0 to begin the game and trailed by 13 at the start of the second quarter. Things completely flipped from there, which started when Karl-Anthony Towns went on a 15-0 run by himself to give the Knicks their first lead of the game.
They entered the halftime break trailing by two, and they came out of the half with a dominant third quarter. New York outscored Miami 41-15 in the third quarter, and they shot 16-for-23 from the floor and 7-for-10 from three in that quarter.
It was one of their most dominant quarters on both ends that they have had all season, and the performance in the third allowed them to jump out to a 24-point lead entering the fourth, a lead that would grow to as much as 27 and never be relinquished by New York.
The Knicks got big contributions from everybody
This was another all-around team effort by the Knicks, which they need with Jalen Brunson still out. Josh Hart recorded his eighth triple-double of the season with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, which ties Walt Frazier for the most triple-doubles in a single season in franchise history.
Towns dropped in 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting (3-for-5 from three) and added seven rebounds to his tally. Mikal Bridges led the way in scoring for New York with an efficient 28-point performance on 10-for-14 shooting from the floor and 4-for-6 from three.
The bench also contributed some big-time offense, with Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson each scoring 10 points and Landry Shamet adding nine of his own. New York got major contributions on both ends from just about everybody, which is huge for them going forward until Brunson can return to the floor.
Overview
The Knicks got themselves a much-needed come-from-behind win to get themselves back on track. They will now briefly head back on the road to take on the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday and the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday in a back-to-back.