How Miami Heat’s Twitter Reacted to the Loss Against the New York Knicks Tuesday Night

For weeks, we’ve heard about Playoff Jimmy Butler, and understandably so. But the Miami Heat showed Butler isn’t the only one that can turn it up in the playoffs. Even though the Heat lost Game 2 to the New York Knicks, many fans were pleased the team kept it as close as they did.

Like a palm tree weathering a hurricane, we may bend, but we never break. The Heat may have taken an L, but our resilience and grit shine bright. The Knicks better bring their A-game, 'cause we're coming in hot like the Miami sun.
— Carlos Gil (@carlosgil83) May 3, 2023

We’ve still got this lads, took them to the last 30 seconds without our 2 best scorers, Heat in 5 🫡, Jimmy didn’t lie. pic.twitter.com/k2BFz16m6T
— MC (@UtdMicah) May 3, 2023

Miami held a lead until midway through the fourth quarter, but they were undone by rushed 3s and offensive rebounding.

Some fans blamed the referees for the loss, accusing them of interfering to keep the series close. To be fair, there were some questionable calls late that could have affected the night’s outcome. There was a four-point play late in the fourth quarter that shortened the Heat’s lead to two points, and a possession that timed out even though Caleb Martin’s shot grazed the rim.

If I see Scott foster pic.twitter.com/3CfVBAw0z0
— Scottish Heat Fan (@heat_scotland) May 3, 2023

Scott foster masterclass as always
— H-Town vs Everyone 🤘Hタウン vs みんな (@HTown_90210) May 3, 2023

Regardless of the officiating, Miami’s fanbase was generally pleased with the team’s performances. Caleb Martin had a playoff-high 22 points, while Gabe Vincent and Kyle Lowry are slowly getting back into fans’ good graces. Unfortunately, the critiques on Bam Adebayo continued to pour in, as he had 5 field goals on just 10 shots. In the absence of Butler, many were anticipating a bigger performance.

Does this Bam Adebayo even exist anymore??? pic.twitter.com/vK3lpkPHKF
— Mink Flow (@currypistonn) May 3, 2023

Anything could happen, but Miami losing by six without Butler against a healthy Knicks team certainly implored confidence.

“If Jimmy comes back, the Knicks are not winning another game, sorry to break the news,” one user said to a Knicks fan. “Y’all should have won this game by 15 at least.”

The Heat go back to Miami for Game 3 Saturday night.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.