76ers Playoff Watch: New York Knicks Live to Fight Another Day

The Miami Heat had an opportunity to reserve their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second season in a row on Wednesday night.

With a 3-1 lead over the New York Knicks, a win at Madison Square Garden in Game 5 would do the trick for Jimmy Butler and the Heat.

From the gate, it seemed Miami was on its way to taking care of business. Through the first quarter of action, Miami outscored New York 24-14 in a low-scoring start.

After getting warmed up, the Knicks found a way to remove the lid off the basket and knocked down 50 percent of their 22 shots from the field to outscore the Heat 36-23 before halftime. The Knicks had a small lead at halftime, which expanded to 19 points in the third quarter.

With some high-percentage shooting to begin the second half, the Knicks hit on nearly 70 percent of their shots, with RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and Jalen Brunson accounting for all 34 of the team’s points to begin the second half.

Although the Knicks possessed a double-digit lead going into the fourth quarter, the Heat once again proved they refuse to go down easy. Kyle Lowry checked in for eight minutes, scoring nine points in crunch time. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo accounted for nine points of their own, while the sharpshooter Duncan Robinson drilled three of his six shots from deep to score nine points.

Miami crept in on New York’s lead as they outscored the Knicks in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to seal the deal. The Knicks defeated the Heat 112-103 at home on Wednesday night. With that win, New York improves their record to 2-3.

The Knicks and the Heat will meet for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Friday night. A Miami victory would put the Knicks away once and for all. A Knicks win forces a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.