Canada's Barrett pours in career-high 46 points in Knicks' loss to Heat
Mississauga, Ont., native made return after 4-game absence due to ankle injury
Tyler Herro scored 25 points, Jimmy Butler had 23 and the Miami Heat overcame RJ Barrett's career-high 46 points to beat the New York Knicks 115-100 on Friday night in New York.
Kyle Lowry added 19 points in the Heat's first game after the All-Star break after they were tied with Chicago for the best record in the Eastern Conference going into it. Bam Adebayo finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Miami started a little slowly in the resumption of its schedule, then shut down most of the Knicks beyond Barrett and relied on its balance to run its road winning streak to a season-high six games.
With Herro, one of the NBA's best reserves this season, and Caleb Martin back after being sidelined with injuries before the break, Miami's bench provided too much depth for a Knicks team that had little besides Barrett.
"It was great to see that unit back together," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Guys are healthy and gave us a really good boost."
RJ Barrett (<a href="https://twitter.com/RjBarrett6?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RjBarrett6</a>) straight dawg. Career-high 46 pts (30 pts in the 1st half 👀), 9-13 FG, 6-11 3PM & 9 rebs 🥶 Most by a Knicks player since Carmelo’s 46pt game in 2014. <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nba</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rjbarrett?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#rjbarrett</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nyknicks?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nyknicks</a> <a href="https://t.co/GlnkmdNoZ6">pic.twitter.com/GlnkmdNoZ6</a>
—@swishcultures_Barrett, of Mississauga, Ont., made six 3-pointers and grabbed nine rebounds in his return from a four-game absence with a sprained left ankle, and his best game as a pro would have been even better if not for 14-for-22 shooting from the free throw line.
He said his career night coming in a loss was bittersweet.
"When you have a night like that, of course you want to have a win, which is the most important thing," Barrett said.
The Knicks dropped their fourth straight and fell to 25-35. They hoped they were close to getting Derrick Rose back from ankle surgery, only to instead announce he had another procedure on the ankle Friday.
The Knicks jumped to a 10-0 lead while the Heat missed their first six shots, but Herro's 3-pointer cut it to 32-30 after one quarter. Miami turned a two-point deficit into a 48-38 lead with a 12-0 burst, went up by as much as 16 and settled for a 65-55 halftime lead after Barrett scored 17 in the second.
The Knicks were within one with 40 seconds left in the third, but Lowry made four free throws to make it 90-85 heading to the fourth. Miami then opened the quarter by outscoring the Knicks 11-5, with Herro getting two baskets, to go up by double digits again at 101-90.
New York came out of the break 12th in the East and potentially a team that will transition to focusing on its youth. It was decided this week that Kemba Walker, who had been the starting point guard, will shut down for the season and rest his troublesome knee.
