![]() ![]() They also provided a bit of hope, a replicable blueprint, that they could do it again.įor the final 36 minutes, the Knicks looked like themselves for the first time since perhaps Game 2. With Hart in foul trouble, Brunson and Grimes went on to become the first Knicks teammates to each play all 48 minutes in a postseason game since Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Jerry Lucas in 1972. RJ Barrett and the Knicks turned Game 5 around with a massive run to open the second quarter. Brunson had five points and three assists during the run. Josh Hart had picked up three fouls, the final one becoming a Flagrant 1 and prompting him to take his headband off and walk toward the tunnel.īut Grimes connected on a 3-pointer to start the second quarter. In a season when the Knicks kept finding ways to exceed expectations - from “this will be a transition season following Jalen Brunson’s arrival” to “but they’re too streaky to avoid the play-in” to “OK, they’ll lose in the first round” - that happened one more time when they trailed the Heat, 24-14, after the first quarter and their demise appeared all but certain.Ī Julius Randle 3-pointer had just bounced off the rim. “And so he’s gonna give maximum effort on every play, and we need our whole team to do that.” “You need those hustle plays,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game when asked about Grimes’ steal against Butler. The Knicks’ season isn’t alive Thursday morning without Grimes’ performance, either. Quentin Grimes, while hobbling on one leg, comes up with the clutch steal on Jimmy Butler. ![]() It’s Quentin Grimes - who played all 48 minutes - limping after he appeared to jam his knee navigating a Bam Adebayo screen, defending Jimmy Butler 1-on-1 that same possession and poking the ball away from the Heat star. We’re not talking about the Knicks’ season in the present tense on Thursday morning otherwise.īut if there’s a lasting image from Game 5, a microcosm for these Knicks who sent the series back to Miami with a 112-103 victory, it’s the steal. The Knicks trailed by 10 after the first quarter at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, and then exploded on an 18-2 burst across the opening 2:54 of the second frame to save their season. If there’s a lasting sequence from Game 5, it’s the run. ![]()
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