Following a dreadful Game Three loss putting the Knicks in a near must win situation in Game Four, New York was completely outworked and outclassed by the Heat in a 109-101 loss. The series will shift back to New York Wednesday in a do or die game for the Knicks.
Abysmal Rebounding In The Fourth
Although New York trailed for the majority of the game, Miami was only up 90-81 to start the fourth quarter, putting the game well within reach. In terms of shot defense, New York more than did their job as Miami shot a mere 6-22 from the field in the final frame. The issues came for the Knicks after the shot went up.
In the fourth quarter, Miami had a whopping 17 rebounds compared to only eight for New York. The biggest factor in this difference was the offensive rebounds, as the Heat had seven in the quarter. These seven rebounds lead to seven second chance points that quarter for the Heat, while the Knicks had zero.
New York was fortunate that those offensive rebounds only resulted in seven points, but the larger issue at hand was the clock. With Miami holding a multiple possession lead, New York desperately needed to finish defensively possessions quickly. Miami made it so that New York had far less opportunities offensively with their outstanding hustle off of missed shots.
What makes this domination on the offensive glass even more devastating is that the Heat center Bam Adebayo did not account for a single one. In fact, no center on the Heat had an offensive rebound. Kyle Lowry had two, Caleb Martin had three and Jimmy Butler had two. Butler is the tallest player in the group at 6'7, while Martin is 6'5, and Lowry is only 6'0.
This difference was not from skill, it was from hustle. Every player on this Heat team plays hard and will make the other team work just as hard as they do to have a chance of winning. When asked about the offensive rebounds in the fourth, Julius Randle had a less than inspiring answer.
"Maybe they want it more. I don't know. That's who we've been all year and we've gotta find a way to step up and make those plays if we want to keep this season alive"
- Julius Randle on the Heat being the team to come up with offensive rebounds and loose balls pic.twitter.com/wqaJpoAcpj
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 9, 2023
Losing in the playoffs should never come down to the other team wanting it more. For Randle to admit that the Heat might have wanted it more is an awful look for everyone on the Knicks. New York was the team who needed this game, but it was Miami who played like they needed it more.
Knicks' Turnovers And Fouls
Outside of the offensive rebounds, the largest issue for New York was turnovers and fouls. Randle was the biggest culprit, as he had six turnovers and fouled out of the game. The frustrating part about Randle's game is half of the turnovers and fouls came from offensive fouls. Numerous times this game, he was playing carelessly which got him in trouble. His last foul and turnover was a charge with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, while the game was still well within reach for the Knicks.
As a team, New York had 16 turnovers compared to 12 for Miami. Miami turned those turnovers into 22 points while New York had 15 points off turnovers. This turnover difference was a large factor in Miami simply shooting the ball more times than New York. Miami had 85 field goal attempts, while New York only had 76.
Joining Randle in fouling out was Josh Hart. This foul trouble limited Hart to only 22 minutes played. Jalen Brunson had five fouls himself, while Mitchell Robinson and Quentin Grimes each had two. This lead to 22 free throw attempts for Miami, with nine coming from Jimmy Butler.
For the Knicks to get back on track this series, they will need Randle to play smarter offensively. Three offensive fouls by one player cannot happen in a playoff game. On defense, they have to do a better job of keeping Butler off the free throw line. And if Randle is right in saying the Heat wanted it more than them in Game Four, then that better not be the case in Game Five on Wednesday.
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- Knicks lose Julius Randle for remainder of season as playoffs approach - April 6, 2024
- Knicks Launch into 3rd-Seed in the East With Ten Games Left - March 28, 2024
