Knicks running back, avoiding elimination in Game 5 against the Heat

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John Fanta

College basketball announcer and reporter

had become Jimmy Butler time in this NBA qualifiers. In the last minutes, he sets it up Miami Heat Teaming up to close out wins in the postseason.

With less than two minutes left and his team at six on Wednesday, Butler limped inside the arc Quentin Grimes on him.

Just when it looked like Grimes was injured, he made the play of the game — perhaps the most unlikely play in the NBA postseason — flicked the ball off a Heat star and forced a turnover to send Madison Square Garden into a frenzy.

No matter what happens to Nix In the remainder of the series, Tom Thibodeau and his team on Wednesday night showed just how far they’d come, overcoming an early deficit and holding up the Heat. 112-103 To avoid elimination and force a Game 6 in Miami.

The way the night started, it was heading towards looking like it was going to be a funeral in New York, with the Knicks scoring just 14 points and trailing by 10 points after the other.

but Galen Bronson “You can’t get away from the moment,” he said before the game began. “You have to get out there and attack it.”

The New York star turned those words into reality, delivering a master class and charging back with 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. When he walked up to the free throw line at the end of the night, MVP cheers rained down.

Bronson was joined by two of his Knicks Big 3 buddies, a.k.a RJ Barrett He handed 26 points and seven assists while Julius Randel Scored 24 points, five rebounds and many assists.

On Wednesday, all those 50-50 balls Miami was earning in this series? New York finally got to them, with Randle coming off the offensive rebound with 17 seconds left and the last bucket that was an exclamation point on the night.

After the Knicks were knocked out of the tournament in each of the first four games in the series, the Knicks took it to Miami on the glass with a 50-34 advantage.

When The Heat tried to play hacking Mitchell Robinson In the closing minutes of the game, the Knicks big man went 4-for-6 from the goal line — not to mention a game-high 11 rebounds.

Combine that level of desperation and physicality with Butler showing he’s human, shooting 5-for-12 on the night, and starting Miami 3-for-22 from downtown, it was hard to believe the Heat were in the game late on.

It’s hard to imagine the Heat doing quite as badly as they did on Wednesday, and bringing the Series back to South Beach still provides a level of relief. The other primary issue for the series? Miami edged New York in bench points Wednesday, 42-8, extending the series advantage to 164-70.

But New York showed a killer instinct on Wednesday, and in a promising season for the organization, it’s only fitting that this Knicks team didn’t give up on their home season.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers sports in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John Fanta.