RJ Barrett was not in scoring mode on Sunday in the Super Bowl, but when he made a defensive mistake, it was the last time for Tom Thibodeau.
Barrett was left on the bench in the fourth quarter, finishing with three points as the Heat escaped with a 109-103 garden victory on a Sunday morning.
Julius Randle added 26 points and added 12 rebounds and seven assists. Reggie Bullock was on fire from the 3-point goal, scoring in set 3, with 21 points.
But the Knicks (11-14) proved they couldn’t win unless Barrett was a major factor, and it was a no-show. Barrett played just 19 minutes and shot 1 of 6 as the Knicks broke the two-game winning streak. Barrett was goalless in the first half.
Sources said the Knicks have agreed a trade with Derrick Rose, in part to give them more offensive firepower in the final minutes. The Knicks were frozen in the end. Randle missed a 3 corner with the Knicks down 103-99 with 1:33 left.
Still down 3, Alec Burks, in Barrett’s game, finished with a 3-point lead. Miami player Tyler Herro fell and won the victory with a triple with 33 seconds left, while Miami invested some recent bad fortunes to go 9-14.
Bullock, who has started all 20 games he has played, has struck in six triples in the first half on eight attempts. Bullock received a handful of passes from Randle by the double team.
The Knicks tied a season high with 17 3, but it wasn’t enough as they scored just 44 points in the second half.
Bullock’s aim allowed the Knicks to place between 60 and 59 at the break. Miami’s Kendrick Nunn, an unrecruited goalie, led the Heat with 14 points in the first half, scoring 4 of 5 triples.
When the Knicks lost security center Nerlens Noel, Taj Gibson came off the bench to make a spark, scoring nine points, making all four shots.
The Knicks have used the same starting lineup 20 times: league tops for continuity. The only time Thibodeau has been influenced is when Bullock was injured. By contrast, Miami has had 16 different starting lineups due to injuries and COVID-19 contact tracing.
Before the game, Thibodeau got excited about his former player, Jimmy Butler, who finished with 17 points. He said the Heat were struggling due to Butler’s various injuries and other COVID-19 absences. The Heat are now 6-5 with Butler and 3-9 without.