The New York Knicks had every opportunity to win a game that they trailed for most of the time. A chaotic final possession and several missed chances resulted in a frustrating 113-115 loss to the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
Despite several attempts to force overtime, the Knicks couldn’t get it done. Miles McBride was New York’s strongest offensive player, scoring 25 points and carrying a heavy offensive load with Jalen Brunson still out due to an ankle injury.
Mikal Bridges contributed 23 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns had a solid night with 22 points and 16 rebounds. He also had three chances to tie the game in the final seconds, but none went in. The Knicks fell behind by 10 points with just under three minutes left before launching an 11-3 run.
This run ended with Towns hitting a 3-pointer, bringing New York within one point with 22.4 seconds left. After Miami’s Davion Mitchell made one of two free throws, the Knicks prepared for a chance to tie the game. The next sequence was wild.
McBride missed a jumper, and Towns secured the rebound. He drew what was initially called a goaltending foul on Kel’el Ware, which would have tied the game. However, the replay overturned the call, leading to a jump ball at midcourt that the Knicks won.
From there, the Knicks created several easy looks but missed three more attempts in the paint before Mitchell grabbed the last rebound as the buzzer sounded. Despite missing Brunson and OG Anunoby, who is out with a hamstring injury, the Knicks remained competitive and relied mostly on their starters. Let’s look at the key takeaways from this game.
1. Karl-Anthony Towns’ Monster Night Was Ruined By Late Misses
Karl-Anthony Towns had (almost) the performance the Knicks needed, finishing with 22 points, 16 rebounds (5 offensive), and a perfect 7-for-7 at the line. His rebounding was a key reason New York won the rebounding battle 48-40 and dominated Miami in second-chance points.
Towns also added two assists and a block, and his +3 in 33 minutes reflected how good he was despite the team struggling. His three-pointer with 22.4 seconds left, his only make from deep, gave the Knicks late life and fueled the comeback push. But Towns’ night will be remembered for the final moment, where he had three clean chances at the rim to tie the game and somehow couldn’t convert.
After the overturned goaltending call, Towns grabbed two offensive rebounds and missed both putbacks, before a third missed attempt ended in Davion Mitchell securing the rebound at the buzzer. Towns shot just 7-for-20, including 1-for-7 from three, and the lack of finishing touch in the final second was devastating. No doubt, the Knicks needed one more bucket from their star man.
2. Miles McBride And Mikal Bridges Did Not Get Much Help
Once again missing Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, the Knicks leaned heavily on Miles McBride and Mikal Bridges, and they delivered. McBride scored 25 points on 10-for-23 shooting, including 5-for-12 from three, and finished with a team-high plus-3 in his 39 minutes.
His confidence as a shot creator continues to grow, and he was the primary engine for New York’s 22 fast-break points. Bridges was also very efficient, dropping 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting with two steals and four blocks. But behind them, New York’s lack of offensive weapons was exposed.
The Knicks got just 28 bench points, with only Josh Hart (14 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds) and Jordan Clarkson (14 points on 7-for-13 shooting) contributing. Miami’s bench outscored New York’s 43-28, a massive difference in a two-point loss.
Four Knicks reserves did not play, and those who played combined for just 4 total shot attempts, underscoring how thin the rotation has become without Brunson and Anunoby. The starters had to shoulder nearly everything, and their failure in the clutch might have come down to fatigue.
3. Knicks’ Effort Kept Them Alive, But Died In The Clutch
New York actually won the stats sheet in many areas: rebounds (48-40), blocks (7-5), steals (7-5), points in the paint (64-56), and fast-break points (22-19). Mitchell Robinson was great defensively, finishing +4 in 18 minutes with 11 rebounds, a steal, and a block on perfect 2-for-3 shooting.
The Knicks also held Miami to 45% from the field and limited the Heat to just 11 free-throw attempts. In terms of raw effort, New York checked every box. But turnovers and inconsistent defense cost them.
The Knicks had 17 turnovers, leading to 17 Heat points, while Miami shot an impressive 40% from three (14-for-35). Norman Powell (19 points), Simone Fontecchio (14 points, 4 threes), and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (13 points) punished New York in all the key moments when buckets were needed.
Despite grabbing 11 offensive rebounds, the Knicks gave too many possessions back and lacked organization in the clutch, particularly the final possession, when four clean looks at the basket resulted in zero points. Effort was there, but execution wasn’t.
