Knicks Crush Heat as Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns Make History

A scorching second half and history from Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns allowed the New York Knicks to once again douse the Miami Heat.

The Knicks added to Miami misery with a 116-95 victory at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, dooming the reeling Heat to their eighth consecutive loss. New York, on the other hand, improved to 3-2 in the post-Jalen Brunson era and guaranteed themselves a seed no worse than ninth on the Eastern Conference leaderboard.

With a 13-rebound, 12-point, 11-assist triple double, Hart tied Walt "Clyde" Frazier's franchise record with eight in a single season. Mikal Bridges scored 28 points on 10-of-14 from the field while Karl-Anthony Towns had 23.

Towns scored 15 consecutive points to open the second quarter, leading a New York comeback after they trailed by nine after the opening period. That set a record for most consecutive points scored in a single Knicks game since play-by-play starts began recording in 1996-97.

Monday's win also gave the Knicks (43-24) their first season sweep of the hated Heat since 1992-93. Miami held double-figure leads in each of the three losses with Monday's summiting at 13.

The Heat, in fact, scored the first dozen points of Monday's game with eight of the tallies coming from the arms of Duncan Robinson. New York recovered well enough thanks to 10 period points from Bridges but still trailed by 11 after the first dozen.

Towns' historic takeover offered a permanent momentum shift, one that saw the Knicks swipe the lead before five minutes passed in the second quarter. Miami (29-39) took a few fleeting leads from there on out, including a 49-47 halftime advantage, but it was no match for a Knicks squad entertaining a home crowd for the first time in over two weeks.

Mar 17, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) celebrates his three point shot against the Miami Heat during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

After Robinson opened second half scoring with another triple, the Knicks took the lead for good on back-to-back deep balls from OG Anunoby and Miles McBride. The lead shot back up to 10 thanks to another personal scoring run, this one being a tally of nine in a row from Bridges, before yet another McBride triple tipped off a 24-6 run to close out the final five-plus minutes of the frame.

The fateful New York run was capped off by Hart securing his historic box score with a three-pointer before assisting on Landry Shamet's period-closing three that fell with 0.2 seconds remaining. The Knicks were a plus-31 on the scoreboard during Hart's 29 minutes of action, most of tally built during a 41-15 advantage in the third quarter.

From there, the Knicks were allowed to coast and cap off some personal accomplishments: Mitchell Robinson posted 10 points, his first game with double-figures since returning from a lengthy injury absence, while Anton Watson earned the first points of his NBA career by scoring the final points of the Knicks' night.

With its eighth consecutive loss, Miami has posted such a streak for the first time since 2008. Duncan Robinson led all South Beach scorers with 22 points, most of that earned through five three-pointers. New York held the Heat's shooters in check from deep: Tyler Herro, the winner of last month's 3-Point Contest, was fruitless in three attempts and Miami shooters beyond Robinson were 1-of-14, the mostly-meaningless outlier coming from Pelle Larsson when he shrank a 25-point Knicks lead to 22.

The Knicks now hit the road for their next two, beginning a back-to-back against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET, MSG).

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