Heat blow past Knicks 105-86, take 2-1 series lead

Neither team shot the ball wall, but it was Miami who was the more physically dominant team in the end.

The Miami Heat cruised to a 105-86 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals over the New York Knicks Saturday, taking a 2-1 series lead.

In his return, Jimmy Butler, who played 36 minutes, finished with 28 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Max Strus had one of his best games these playoffs, adding 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting — 3-of-8 from distance — in 24 minutes.

Bam Adebayo was outstanding on both ends of the floor (especially against Randle) and recorded yet another double-double, his third of the playoffs. He finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-13 shooting. Kyle Lowry had 14 points, four assists and three rebounds on 4-of-9 shooting.

Miami shot 38.9 percent and 7-of-32 (21.9 percent) from deep; the Knicks, on the other hand, shot 34.1 percent from deep and 20.0 percent (8-40) from deep. Both teams finished with 13 turnovers apiece, while the Heat finished a plus-two on the glass (50-48) and plus-12 on free-throw makes on 16 additional attempts.

Jalen Brunson posted a team-most 20 points, while Julius Randle (10 points, 14 rebounds) and Josh Hart (15 points, 12 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles of their own. RJ Barrett totaled 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

The Knicks’ starters — Barrett, Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart and Brunson — combined to shoot 22-for-65 (33.8 percent), including 4-of-23 (17.4 percent) from 3-point range.

The Heat raced out to an early 19-8 after a Kevin Love touchdown to Max Strus. The Knicks trimmed the advantage to eight by the end of the quarter, but Miami responded with a 15-4 run … without Butler or Adebayo. The lineup Erik Spoelstra opted to use was Lowry-Martin-Robinson-Highsmith-Zeller, upping that opened more transition and semi-transition opportunities, buoying its advantage to as large as 19.

Despite hitting a wall midway through the second quarter, the Heat entered halftime up 58-44. Miami shot 39.6 percent and 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from 3-point range, but the Knicks were a porous 34.0 percent from the floor and 2-of-16 from deep. New York was also 4-of-25 outside of the paint in the first half.

Butler re-tweaked his ankle after stumbling on a drive in the third quarter, but stayed in the game for the remainder of the quarter as they entered the final period up 17.

That included a scuffle between Zeller and Randle with two minutes left, which resulted in Butler dancing after the fact. Miami’s 22-point fourth-quarter lead was quickly lowered to 13 with 4:23, but the lead would never crease into single-digit territory — giving Miami the series lead heading into Game 4 Monday.