Heat 98, Knicks 96: Scenes from let’s just stop playing the Heat for a while

The friggin’ Heat, man.

The Knicks played two games against Miami, and both games were absolute soul-crushers. We won’t be better than those bastards again as long as Pat Riley is alive, and unfortunately his pact with Satan stipulates he live to be 666 years old.

Tuesday’s clash with Miami was a viciously tense affair. Both teams traded 18-4 runs in the first half, while the second half saw very little separation throughout. The Knicks’ big first-half run featured some tremendous play from Derrick Rose, who scored 10 of his 14 points before halftime.

The first unit kept the Knicks ahead throughout most of the third quarter, but the bench couldn’t recapture their first-half magic to start the fourth. Most of the final quarter was butt-ugly offensive basketball, which favored the Heat, who shot 39 free throws the New York’s 16. Did I mention Pat Riley is a demon?

The score was tied late when Elfrid Payton lost Tyler Herro, leading to a Miami three-pointer. Head coach Tom Thibodeau then went against his normal instincts and put Immanuel Quickley back into the game. IQ had a rough night, but he was clutch when it mattered.

The teams traded sloppy offensive possessions, and Jimmy Butler hit one of two free throws following some bullshit foul-selling, which left the Knicks down 2 with 4.8 seconds remaining. They put the ball in RJ Barrett’s hands, but things just didn’t go his way.

Ah, fudge. I think we all wanted that one pretty desperately. At least we’re done with the Heat for a while. Recap to come.