Heat take 3-1 lead, hold off Knicks 109-101 for Game 4 win

MIAMI (AP)— Jimmy Butler had 27 points and 10 assists, Bam Adebayo finishedwith 23 points and 13 rebounds and the Miami Heat moved a win awayfrom their third trip to the Eastern Conference finals in the lastfour years by topping the New York Knicks 109-101 on Mondaynight.

Max Strusscored 16 points, Kyle Lowry added 15 and Caleb Martin had 10 forthe Heat. Miami, the No. 8 seed, leads the East semifinal series3-1, with Game 5 — and the first potential clincher — awaiting inNew York on Wednesday night.

JalenBrunson finished with 32 points and 11 assists for fifth-seeded NewYork, while RJ Barrett had 24 points and Julius Randle scored 20for the Knicks before fouling out with about three minutesleft.

Miamimissed 12 of its first 15 shots of the fourth quarter, but theKnicks didn’t take full advantage — trimming only three points offthe Heat lead in that span. It was nine entering the fourth, and apair of free throws by Brunson with 4:40 left got New York within99-93.

But a slamby Martin breathed some life into an antsy building, and the roarsgot a bit louder about a minute later. With the Knicks down seven,Randle went into the lane — but Strus beat him to the spot, drawingcontact that became the New York star’s sixth foul with 3:08 left,and the Heat held control the rest of the way.

The Knicksnever led in Game 3, then held the lead twice in Game 4.

Barely.

They had apair of one-point leads in the opening quarter, for a combined 33seconds, and with Miami erasing the deficits with immediate basketson its next possession.

But unlike Game 3,when Miami’s lead was double digits fornearly the entirety of the final three quarters, this one remainedin some doubt much of the way. Miami didn’t get its first 10-pointlead until a 3-pointer by Strus with 3:23 left in the half, andwhenever the Heat seemed poised to pull away New York had ananswer.

The Knickscut what was an 11-point deficit down to 67-65 on a 3-pointer byBarrett with 7:07 left in the third, but never got all the way overthe hump. An 8-1 spurt over a two-minute stretch late in the thirdrestored the 11-point lead, and Miami’s cushion was 90-81 goinginto the fourth.

TIP-INS

Knicks:Immanuel Quickley, who sprained his left ankle late in Game 3, wasout. His status for Game 5 isn’t clear, and he’s listed asday-to-day. … New York changed its starting lineup, with QuentinGrimes — who was celebrating his 23rd birthday — in for Josh Hart.… The Knicks gave up six offensive rebounds in the first threequarters combined, then gave up six more in the fourth alone.

Heat:Adebayo had seven field goals in the first half. Five were dunks,marking the first time in his 473 NBA games that he had that manybefore halftime. … The 7-2 start to the postseason matches thefifth-best in Heat history. They were 8-1 in 2005, 2013, 2014 and2020 — getting to the NBA Finals in the three most-recentinstances. … Butler was questionable with his right ankle, eventhough he played in Game 3, and wasn’t announced as playing untilabout an hour before tip-off Monday. ... Miami missed four 3s onone possession early in the fourth quarter.

SPOMARK

The win wasthe 103rd playoff victory for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. He becomesthe third coach with that many playoff wins with one team; GreggPopovich has 170 with San Antonio, and Phil Jackson had 118 withthe Los Angeles Lakers and 111 with Chicago.

Pat Riley —the Heat president, Spoelstra’s boss and his predecessor as Heatcoach — won 102 with the Lakers.

BIGWEDNESDAY

The Heathave a chance to reach the East finals on Wednesday — and so doesSouth Florida’s NHL team. The Florida Panthers lead theirsecond-round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0, with Game 4of that matchup in Sunrise, Florida on Wednesday night.