The Miami Heat find Jimmy Butler again after his absence in game-2 and the number 22 immediately makes the difference: it’s his 10 points in the first quarter alone that inspires not only his teammates, but also all the fans present in the Kaseya stands Center who enjoyed an excellent choral performance by the hosts. In fact, Miami plays well in both halves, and once they climb above the double-digit lead, they never look back, winning the 2-1 victory in a series that will see the teams return to the field in the night between Monday and Tuesday. One of the protagonists in the Heat house is called Max Strus, very good at being ready not only on the perimeter to hurt the New York defense with 19 points. However, the best scorer is once again Butler, who puts up 28 points with 9/21 shooting and 10/11 with free throws, there are also 17 with 12 rebounds from Bam Adebayo. But it is above all in the defensive half that Miami builds its fortunes, without ever letting the opponents get into rhythm.
Night bad New York: defeat and injury Quickley
New York shoots just 34% from the field throughout the match, including a disastrous 8-for-40 from three-point range, and never finds a way to break the Heat’s defense. The best is Jalen Brunson with 20 points but continuously hunted by the excellent defense of Gabe Vincent, while the two starting wingers Julius Randle (10+14 with 4/15 shooting) and RJ Barrett (14 with 5/16) are enormously disappointing. In addition to a brawl at the end of the third quarter, the injury of Immanuel Quickley, who went off the field after Adebayo collapsed on his leg causing an unnatural twist, was added to the Knicks’ bad night.