Miami Heat The No. 8 seed was unusual in several ways. Now they are one win away from showing, yet again, why that seeding was beneath them
Heat Wednesday night when they aim to close out an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the fifth seed new York Knicks Best of seven sets in Game 5
Host Miami took a 3-1 lead in the series on Monday when Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo posted double-doubles. Heat Green knicks 109-101
With another win, the Heat Will become only the second eighth seed to reach the conference finals and the first since knicks It did so in the spring of 1999. But the circuitous route taken by Miami, a perennial title contender, is unprecedented
Heat The regular season finished seventh in the Eastern Conference and missed a chance to clinch the seventh seed, falling 116–105 to the Atlanta Hawks in their first play-in game on April 11. playoff bracket when it overcame a three-point deficit in the final 3:47 to beat the Chicago Bulls 102–91
as the eighth seed, Heat drew the Milwaukee Bucks, who finished an NBA-best 58–24. But became the fifth No. 8 seed to win a first-round series by eliminating the Miami Bucks – who were without Giannis Antetokounmpo for two full games and most of the season due to a back injury – in five games.
Now Heat have taken control against the upstart knicks Led them wire-to-wire in a 105-86 win in Game 3 on Saturday and screwed the visitors on Monday. New York had only a pair of one-point leads and shot just 33 percent (6 of 18) in the fourth quarter, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
“We’ve got a job to do,” said Butler, who finished with 27 points and 10 assists while adding six rebounds. “And I think we’re capable of a lot.”
knicks New York looked able to extend a rare deep playoff run with a resurgent regular season, winning 47 games, the most by a team since 2012–13. In the first round of the playoffs, they led a decisive five-game victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
but hurt knicksThe team, which has not made it to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000, appeared to be out of rhythm during the second round series.
knicks 52 turnovers in the first four games, more than 13 Heat, Miami also outscored New York 94–83 in Games 3 and 4, taking down 13 offensive boards in each contest.
knicks Pulled down an average of 46.6 rebounds per game during the regular season, tied for second-most in the NBA, and trailed opponents by 4.5 per game
“Just maybe they want it more — I don’t know,” knicks forward Julius Randle said. “We’ve been like that all year. To step up and find a way to make those plays, keep this season alive.
knicks Could be without Sixth Man of the Year finalist Emmanuel Quickle, who missed Sunday’s game with a left ankle injury that originally occurred in Game 3. New York listed him as questionable for Game 5.
Tuesday also came at an opportune time for Randle, who missed the final five games of the regular season with a sprained left ankle and sat out. knicks‘ 108-101 Game 1 loss due to injury. The All-Star is shooting just 22.2 percent from 3-point range in the series after hitting 34.3 percent of his shots from beyond the arc in the regular season.
– Field Level Media