The New York Knicks were able to stave off NBA playoff elimination against the Miami Heat in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. The teams are now preparing for Game 6 on South Beach Friday night, where the Heat have gone 2-0 thus far in this series and are 4-0 overall in the playoffs.
A big reason that the series is heading back to Miami was the performance of Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson. Brunson had a game for the ages, scoring 38 points with nine rebounds and seven assists. Those plateaus haven’t been reached in a playoff game by a Knick since Walt Frazier did it while taking down the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1970 NBA Finals.
That performance was so spectacular that even the Heat are giving Brunson some praise for it. Miami point guard Kyle Lowry, who also played collegiately at Villanova like Brunson and Josh Hart, spoke very highly of his counterpart.
“He’s talented; there’s great talent that kid has there,” Lowry said. “The man has played 45 minutes and 48 minutes in the last couple of games, so you got to give him credit. He’s just being aggressive and continuing to attack.”
The icing on the cake for that performance was the fact that Brunson didn’t come off the court once. He played all 48 minutes of the game along with Quentin Grimes, who put his stamp on things by stealing the ball from Jimmy Butler late in the fourth quarter after hurting his knee on a questionable screen set by Bam Adebayo.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks & Miami Heat Updates
Brunson and Grimes are the first pair of Knicks to play all 48 minutes of regulation in a postseason game since Frazier and Jerry Lucas did it in 1972 against the Boston Celtics. It certainly drew the attention of Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who also had a lot of positives to say about Brunson.
“He has a great competitive will,” Spoelstra said after the game about Brunson. “So, he’s going to continue to attack, he’s going to try to manipulate the defense. He’s aggressive, he’s physical, but he also knows how to draw fouls.
“He’s clever, so he has that combination. So be it, you have to respect him as a competitor and then find a way to get the job done.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks & Miami Heat Updates
Slowing Brunson down should be goal No. 1 for the Heat if they want to close this series out in Game 6 and not have to head back on the road for Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. That is obviously easier said than done as Brunson has found success night in and night out despite being the center of attention for Miami’s game plan defensively.
“I think we had a chance to close out tonight. They didn’t let us,” Lowry added. “They played their butts off and we give them credit for how they played at home. We have to go home and do our job and protect home court.
“They did their job, they protected home court and we’ve got to respond on Friday.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks & Miami Heat Updates
All of the pressure is on Miami to close things out tonight. This is essentially their Game 7 as playing in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd in a win-or-go-home game is not something any team wants to face.
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