With a single fourth-quarter sequence, the smashmouth Eastern Conference series that kept being framed from a 1990s perspective suddenly looked a whole lot like one straight out of 2023. And it was because of yet another star player injury that threatens to turn the tide.
With just over five minutes to go in Game 1 Sunday between the Heat and Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Miami star Jimmy Butler drove to his right and rose for a shot as he drew contact from New York swingman Josh Hart. Hart inadvertently kicked his foot into Butler’s right foot, prompting him to roll his ankle and writhe in pain as soon as the play concluded.
Butler somehow toughed it out and remained in the game. But the fourth-quarter closer largely stood in the opposite corner, far away from the action, as 37-year-old Kyle Lowry ran the offense instead.
Even without any late-game heroics from Butler, Miami managed to hold onto Game 1, 108–101, in part because of how the Heat game-planned the Knicks, who were without a star of their own. Julius Randle ended up sitting out the series opener after reaggravating a left ankle sprain during Game 5 of the Cleveland matchup. As such, much of the Knicks’ playmaking responsibility fell to New York floor general Jalen Brunson, who had 25 points—and seven assists to go with his five turnovers—but took 23 attempts to log them. “Today, I was horrific,” Brunson told reporters after the defeat. “This one’s on me. I’ve got to be better.”
