[ad_1]
MIAMI — Scores of New Yorkers flock to South Florida in March for Spring Break to have a jolly time, and Friday night, the Knicks’ youngsters had the time of their lives.
After a real boring three quarters, with the Knicks trailing the might Heat by 17 points, they started throwing a party — with Immanuel Quickley and rookies Miles McBride, Quentin Grimes and Jericho Sims at the life of that party.
It wasn’t Saint Peter’s, but it was good enough as the Knicks rallied to stun the first-place Heat, 111-103, at FTX Arena. The Knicks won their second straight game, after bombing the Hornets on Wednesday, and closed to within five games of 10th place Atlanta with eight to play.
Quickley exploded for 23 points — 20 in the final period — and sealed the victory with six straight free throws. It marked coach Tom Thibodeau’s first win over Miami since he became the Knicks’ head coach last season. He was 0-5 entering the contest.
After back-to-back 3 pointers by Grimes — one set up by an offensive rebound by Sims — the Knicks took their first lead since early in the first quarter at 97-94 with 4:55 left. The once-quiet contingent of Knicks fans let out a big roar in downtown Miami.
During their run, McBride blocked Heat star guard Kyle Lowry’s shot and raced in for a layup to bring the Knicks within 92-89. They had trailed 88-73 entering the fourth.
The Knicks made most of their big fourth-quarter surge with RJ Barrett on the bench amid a rough night (5-for-17, 18 points) and Julius Randle out for a third straight game with a sore quad. Evan Fournier also sat the entire fourth quarter after a shoddy shooting night (2-for-11).
Obi Toppin added 15 points for the Knicks, but wasn’t part of the fourth-quarter romp, when Taj Gibson was the second big on the court.
Quickley hit a big lefty driving banker to put the Knicks up by four with 2:20 left. Quickley went in on a fast break after intercepting a pass at midcourt to give the Knicks a seven-point bulge with 1:12 left.
The Heat controlled the first half, scoring 24 points in the paint and leading by as much as 14 points. Miami’s Jimmy Butler scored 17 of his 30 points in the first half.
[ad_2]