MIAMI. Dozens of New Yorkers flock to South Florida in March for spring break to have fun, and the Knicks youth had a great time Friday night.
After a very boring three-quarters, with the Knicks trailing the mighty Heat by 15 points, they started throwing a party—with Immanuel Quickly and rookies Miles McBride, Quentin Grimes, and Jericho Sims in the life of this fiesta.
It wasn’t St. Peters, but it was enough as the Knicks rallied to stun the first-place Heat 111-103 at the FTX Arena. The Knicks (32-42) won their second game in a row after bombarding the Hornets on Wednesday and came close to five games from Atlanta, who finished 10th in the Eastern Conference with eight games.
Quickly scored 23 points, 20 in the last period, and sealed the victory with six straight free throws. It was Coach Tom Thibodeau’s first victory over Miami since he took over as Knicks head coach last season. He was 0-5 while participating in the competition.
After a 38–15 fourth quarter, Quickley entered the interview room in dark colors—appropriately enough.
Immanuel Quickly (5) celebrates with Miles McBride (2). NBAE via Getty Images
“They are where we want to be – at the top of the East,” Quickly said. “Going out here against a great team and getting a big win is what we can do. Play fast, play free, that’s where we have the advantage. We like to play with the advantage, but if we lose, we try not to panic.”
After straight 3-pointers from Grimes, one of which was scored by Sims after an offensive rebound, the Knicks took the lead – for the first time since the start of the first quarter – 97–94 with 4:55 left. The once-quiet contingent of Knicks fans made a big roar in the arena in downtown Miami.
During their run, McBride blocked a hit by Heat star quarterback Kyle Lowrey and rushed on a layup to take the Knicks to 92–89. They trailed 88-73 into fourth place, but McBride’s defense against Lowry, one of his idols, was critical.
“It was huge – obviously it wasn’t easy, because they’re #1 for a reason,” McBride said. “Their attack is well organized. Perhaps they relaxed a little. We took advantage of that and Quick did the trick.”
Immanuel Quickly finished with a team-record 23 points. NBAE via Getty Images
Thibodeau praised his best defender.
“Not an easy cover because of his ability to shoot, but also because of his ability to foul,” Thibodeau said. “He came up with a big traffic bounce. These are winning games. Well, it’s amazing.”
The Knicks made the most of their big shot in the fourth quarter with R. J. Barrett on the bench in the middle of a tough night (5 of 17, 18 points) and Julius Randle was out of the game for the third straight time with a sore quad. Evan Fournier also sat out the entire fourth quarter after poor shooting (2 of 11).
Thibodeau added to the oddity of his press conference when he said he was tired of being treated by the media and social media this season as starters against substitutes, young against old.
Obi Toppin finished with 15 points. NBAE via Getty Images
“It’s a long season,” Thibodeau said of the young shooters. “Everyone needs you. That’s why you have a bench and depth. Depth is critical in today’s NBA.
“It was the same young legs as in the first half. You guys are trying to pick on that one, pick on that one. You need everything during the season. We love our young guys. They bring it every day. They must bring energy. You need RJ, you need Julius, you need [Mitchell Robinson]you need Evan, you need Alec [Burks]. Everyone needs you. It’s a team, not something individual.”
Obi Toppin added 15 points to the Knicks but did not feature in the fourth quarter when Taj Gibson was second on the court.
Quickly hit a big left banker and the Knicks went up by four with 2:20 left. Quickly went on a fast break after intercepting a center court pass that gave the Knicks a seven-point lead with 1:12 left.
The Heat controlled the first half, scoring 24 points in the paint and leading by a full 14 points. Miami’s Jimmy Butler scored 17 of 30 points in the first half.
Robinson returned with a sore back, but Thibodeaux still started Sims, who scored six points on seven rebounds for a team-leading plus 17.
“Our resilience, our resilience, I think we’ve shown a lot this year as we bounced back from big deficits,” Quickly said.