New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat 132-125: The MVP conversation

The New York Knicks took down the Miami Heat, 132-125, despite losing the battle in the middle in uncharacteristic fashion. New York rebounded less and turned the ball over more than Miami, but it didn’t matter thanks to 47 points from Jalen Brunson.

The Knicks trailed early, with Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby both failing to score in the first half while Miami shot lights out from three. But Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges carried the offense and helped New York take a four-point lead into halftime.

Anunoby kicked into gear during the third quarter, while Brunson didn’t slow down. With New York riding a killer trio of Brunson, Bridges, and Anunoby, the Heat could never find enough momentum to catch up.

The Captain looked like an MVP, while Wing Stop helped make up for KAT’s tough night. Let’s see how each player performed.

When the Knicks went down by 10 points early, Jalen Brunson scored or assisted on 13 consecutive points. Brunson remained highly involved in the team’s offensive production for the rest of the game. The Heat attacked him physically, and the Captain shrugged them off for tough basket after tough basket.

Brunson’s passing often gets downplayed because he’s such a brilliant scorer. But any time the Heat sent help inside the arc, Brunson found the open shooter. His playmaking consistently forces teams to double-team him all the way up to half-court.

Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t have it in this one. He missed his handful of shots, turned the ball over through offensive fouls, and even missed his free throws.

I give him credit for showing hustle and trying to make up for struggles. He entered a one-possession game late and made plays at both ends to help New York secure a win. It’s a small victory after a rough game.

Let’s not forget that he hurt himself against San Antonio.

OG Anunoby seemed bound for a nightmare performance early. He went scoreless in the first half and struggled with turnovers right into the beginning of the third quarter. But Anunoby turned defense into offense. He got blocks and steals that turned into easy transition points, then kept his momentum to turn his night around.

Virtually all of OG’s production came in the second half. All of his 18 points, two of his assists, and his three Stocks all came after halftime. He kicked into gear, and put Miami away.

With KAT and OG scoreless, Mikal Bridges stepped up with an eighteen-point first half. Bridges let Anunoby attack in the second half, but continued to provide relief to the primary ball handlers whenever necessary. KAT and Anunoby have been inconsistent lately, but Bridges is always reliable to cover for anyone struggling.

Bridges was the second-best Knick of the night, and it’ll be a shame if he’s overshadowed in the All-Star discussion by his three counterparts who put up higher highs and lower lows.

Great teams have role players who always seem to make a big play when your defense finally contains the opposing stars. Josh Hart is New York’s clutch role player, more than anyone else on the roster. It feels like his three-pointers are better when the shot clock is up than at any other point.

While New York’s bigs fought with Ware and Adebayo, Hart stepped up to lead the team in rebounds. He also mixed in his typical share of transition dimes. Other players had flashier games, but Hart was just as important to this win.

I’m highlighting Tyler Kolek off the bench again because he continues to be a +/- darling. I know the stat is a source of skepticism, but the Knicks visibly gain steam whenever Tyler the Kreator is out there. His crafty ball-handling gets teammates into rhythm, which happened tonight when he shared the floor with Mikal Bridges.

Kolek didn’t put up monster numbers. But his +16 in 22 minutes is a testament to how the offense got rolling whenever he was on the floor. He lets Brunson play off-ball, and that’s becoming a staple of some great runs for New York.

We’re back to business as usual. The Knicks have won eight of ten games. Jalen Brunson just scored a new career high in the Garden. We’re watching the best team in the Eastern Conference, and that loss to Philadelphia feels like a blip.

We need to get voting for our All-Stars and pushing the “Jalen Brunson for MVP” agenda. This team deserves all the hype it gets! I’ll see you next time, Knicks’ fam!