New York Knicks (USA)

At home, the Miami Heat finished the job on the night of Friday to Saturday by winning Game 6 of their play-off series against the New York Knicks (96-92) and joined the Eastern Conference final for the third times over the past four seasons.

Despite a very bad start (14 points behind in the first quarter) and a day without long distance (7/27), the Floridians, led by the duo Jimmy Butler (24 points) – Bam Adebayo (23 pts) , finally managed to control New York’s intentions.

Jalen Brunson too lonely

Jalen Brunson, still untenable (41 pts at 14/22) to the point of becoming the first Knicks player to chain three play-off games in a row with at least 30 points since Patrick Ewing in 1990, was too lonely to force the decision alone and push Miami into a game 7. Julius Randle (15 pts, 11 rebounds) and RJ Barrett (11 pts), 4/24 in shooting between them, did not follow the XXL performance of their leader , who asserted himself as the New York boss in these play-offs.

Seventh in the regular season and impressive scorer for the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round (4-1), the Heat await the Eastern Conference finals for the Boston Celtics or the Philadelphia Sixers, who will play Game 7 overnight from Sunday to Monday.

The Miami Heat won Sunday, at Madison Square Garden, the first game of its Eastern Conference semi-final against the New York Knicks (101-108). The outcome of a meeting where it took until the third quarter to see the match reversed, after a start totally missed by the Florida franchise.

The first period was indeed catastrophic for Miami, with an incomprehensible determination to attempt 3-point shots, with 4/17 after 12 minutes. This stubbornness allowed the Knicks to take an 11-point lead (32-21) in front of their fans. RJ Barrett (11 points in the first quarter, 26 in total to finish as the match’s top scorer) set the tone, with the help of Jalen Brunson (25 points, 7 assists, but 0/7 at 3 points) and Obi Toppin, aligned in the five major in the absence of Julius Randle, hit in the left ankle and forfeited.

Butler hit in the right ankle in the last quarter

This gap, maintained at a respectable level by the excellent work of Gabe Vincent (20 points with 5 award-winning shots, 5 assists), was to partially melt during the second quarter, thanks to a more aggressive defense from the Heat (55-50 ) and an incredible bankruptcy behind the arc of New Yorkers (3/16). The latter would even find themselves led in the middle of the third act, suffering devastating counter-attacks and being surprised by the positive aggressiveness of the Heat, which turned with a +6 (75-81) at the dawn of the final quarter. .

A last period marked by the injury to the right ankle of Jimmy Butler, who still compiled 25 points and 11 rebounds in this evening. The Miami star player remained on the field, but was visibly impaired. Veteran Kyle Lowry (37), with his XXL experience in the play-offs, then took over (18 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) and took care of everything, on both sides of the field, in the last minutes. Miami thus held its advantage until the end to start, as in the previous round, its series with an away success. Next meeting Tuesday, still at Madison Square Garden, with already absolute pressure on the Knicks.