NEW YORK (AP) — Immanuel Quickly scored 24 points, Quentin Grimes had 23 and the New York Knicks closed in on a postseason berth with a 101-92 victory Wednesday that moved the Miami Heat closer to the playoffs. in.
Josh Hart added 13 for the Knicks, who overcame the loss of Julius Randle to a sprained left ankle to win their second straight win and hold their ground in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and opened a four-game gap over the seventh-place Heat.
The top six teams have guaranteed postseason berths. The Heat’s third straight loss left them 1 1/2 games behind the Nets.
Jalen Brunson returned from a two-game absence with a sprained left hand with 12 points, and RJ Barrett also finished with 12 after coming off 0-for-8. New York visits Cleveland on Friday in what could be the preview of the 4-5 game in the East.
Gabe Vincent scored 21 points and Tyler Herro had 16 for the Heat, who faded down the stretch after losing in Toronto on Tuesday.
The Knicks led 86-85 midway through the fourth quarter before Hart scored a pair of baskets and Grimes added four points in a 9-0 run that brought the score to 95-85 on Quickley’s free throw at 4: 17 remaining. The Heat never made another run.
Randle sprained his left ankle late in the second quarter. The All-Star forward who has started all 77 games was hurt when Bam Adebayo landed on him after Randle grabbed an offensive rebound and faked the Heat’s cross in the air. Randle stayed behind to shoot the free throws, but he was clearly in pain and the Knicks promptly fouled him out of the game.
The Knicks got off to an 8-0 start, but the Heat scored their next 14 and led 23-19 after a first quarter in which New York went 0-for-6 on free throws. The teams traded the lead several times in the second before Brunson hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give New York a 48-46 lead.
TIPS
Heat: Kyle Lowry sat out the second half of back-to-back games after playing against his former team on Tuesday. … Jimmy Butler returned after sitting out Tuesday and had 12 points.
Knicks: The Knicks urged fans to sing “Happy Birthday” to Hall of Famer and MSG Network host Walt Frazier during the first quarter. … Randle visited the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Charter School in the Bronx on Tuesday to present a check for 0,000, the result of a campaign that began when he pledged to donate 0 for every three-pointer he made over two seasons and joined others individuals and organizations.
“FRESHWATER” STARS
Actors Everett Osborne, Jeremy Piven and Cary Elwes, who star in the upcoming movie “SWEETWATER,” were at the game. Osborne plays Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, a former Harlem Globetrotter who signed with the Knicks, becoming the first black player to sign a contract with an NBA team. Piven plays Knicks coach Joe Lapchick, and Elwes is Knicks executive Ned Irish. The film will be released on April 14.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Heat: Host Dallas on Saturday.
Knicks: In Cleveland on Friday.
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