Knicks crumble in second half as Heat take Game 1

The Knicks didn’t lose to “Playoff Jimmy.”

Their undoing was their own.

Their inability to throw the ball in the ocean from 3-point land on top of the absence of leading scorer Julius Randle started this Eastern Conference semifinal on a sour note.

Up 12 and seemingly in control most of the first half, the Knicks were thoroughly outplayed over the final 24 minutes in a dismal 108-101 Game 1 loss to the Heat at a disappointed and sold-out Garden.

The Knicks shot just 7-of-34 from 3-point range after entering this series as the worst 3-point shooting team in the playoffs, making only 28.2 percent.

They were within striking distance, down just three with 5:05 left when Jimmy Butler appeared to hurt his right ankle.

But they managed just two points over the next 4:02, blowing any chance to come from behind.

Butler was typically brilliant, scoring 25 points along with 11 rebounds and four assists, and he had plenty of help.

Kyle Lowry scored 18 points off the bench and Bam Adebayo added 16 points and seven rebounds, while controlling Mitchell Robinson in the paint.

RJ Barrett had 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Knicks and Jalen Brunson had 25, but both struggled in big moments in the fourth quarter.

The Knicks mostly controlled the game over the first 24 minutes – everywhere but the 3-point line, where they were outscored by 12.

They entered the game last in the postseason in 3-point shooting, and were 3 of 16 from distance in the opening half.

It kept the Heat in the game, as they were otherwise outplayed in every other facet.

Coach Tom Thibodeau’s team led by as many as 12 in the half, and doubled up Miami, 40-20, in points in the paint.

Barrett was particularly sharp, scoring 11 of his 13 first-half points in the first quarter, while Brunson had 11 of his first-half 15 in the second.

Butler was mostly held in check, managing 11 points on 4 of 8 shooting, but Gabe Vincent provided an unexpected offensive boost with 14 points and three 3-pointers. 

Without Randle, Thibodeau went eight deep, and brought Quentin Grimes off the bench, keeping Hart and Ob Toppin as starters.

Hart had six points, four rebounds and three assists in an active first half that included defending Butler almost his entire 19 minutes on the floor. 

The game turned in the third quarter, as the Knicks continued to struggle badly from 3 and the Heat erupted.

Miami scored 24 of the quarter’s first 31 points, and led by as many as eight.

The Heat turned defensive rebounds into easy transition opportunities, Love repeatedly hitting Butler on home run passes for easy baskets.

It was a six-point Heat lead after three, largely the result of the Knicks missing 24 of 29 3-point attempts through 36 minutes.