Coup’s Takeaways: Heat Hold Off Knicks in Clutch Behind Mitchell’s Defense, Hot Shooting Against Zone

Same teams, same missing stars, same lineups as in Friday night’s loss in New York. Same game, too, only with a different result.

After Karl-Anthony Towns exploded for 31 points in the first half a few nights ago, Erik Spoelstra dialed up the help in the second half and had his group double Towns just about any time he put the ball on the deck, and especially when he had the ball in the post – which is partially why someone like Landry Shamet had the studio space to go off as he did.

Spoelstra stuck with the same strategy early in this one, doubling Towns on the first possession and forcing the other Knicks to make shots. New York found the offense, still, with Deuce McBride opening strong to give his side a 10-4 advantage, but a 9-0 HEAT run, fueled by Kel’el Ware’s offensive rebounding, soon followed, and the tone of the night was set. Back-and-forth, runs traded, Friday again.

Miami had opened cold from the arc, 1-of-7, with their attempts in the paint a bit more contested as usual as the Knicks built a wall in front of the most dangerous drivers, but as Simone Fontecchio got going on his catch-and-shoot game, hitting three of his first four, things slowly began to open up for the likes of Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Mikal Bridges made his mark in the second, attacking the rim and the free-throw line, but Davion Mitchell had a mini-run of his own ready for the end of the half. After that 1-of-7 start from outside, the HEAT went into the break hitting 8-of-16, that advantage outweighing New York’s free-throws for a 55-51 lead.

The Knicks changed things up with regards to Towns’ touches after the break, less time spent trying to get him the ball in the post, where he was getting doubled, more touches in space on the perimeter where he could go one-on-one. A flurry of scoring ensued, stopped only by Towns picking up his fourth foul and being removed from the game.

Only one team could hit a three, Miami maintaining a small lead but a lead all the same, until a spirited stretch of Knicks defense, much of it in zone, and interior forays from Bridges and Josh Hart turned it. Miami’s offense was stuck in the mud and muck.

Then, threes. There wasn’t much traction in the middle of the floor, but the zone will always leave spaces on the perimeter open for the right ball movement, Dru Smith and Simone Fontecchio finding daylight for an 83-82 lead after three – their three-point efficiency (43.3 percent) out-pacing their percentages from two (40.4 percent).

Smith again, again against the zone, early in the fourth, both sides trading scores, easier scores than either side wanted to give up, and the lead, everything a little scattered. Knicks by three with 7:44 to go on a McBride dunk in transition.

Miami back in front, quickly, on a series of drives into the heart of the zone, and with the Knicks hitting iron on their threes on the other end the lead was six, Mitchell dropping in another scoop layup off the glass.

Clutch game, of course, and soon it was ten under five minutes. Not the cleanest finish, by any measure, with McBride hitting a pair of threes before Towns went to the line for an 8-0 run, back to a two-point game with a minute to play, but the Knicks blew containment on their press and Norm Powell got a free layup.

Looked like that would be enough, but an offensive rebound of a Shamet three led to a Towns triple. One-point game with 22.4 to play. Mitchell would miss the first free-throw after being intentionally fouled, making the second, and the Knicks would have their chance.

A Towns (22 points on 19 shots) putback was taken away on review for goaltending, jump ball. Knicks retained and a wild sequence followed, the ball bouncing all over the place as New York had a couple of chances before Mitchell finished off the night with its biggest rebound. Heat take it, 115-113.

For a good while Miami was in this one, even when they were leading, largely because they were so far out ahead from the arc – finishing at 40 percent on 35 attempts, including 63 percent on corner threes, to New York’s 25 percent of 36 attempts.

That helps when your opponent is running zone for most of the night.

It’s too early to know if the zone is truly going to become a trend simply because Miami has played so many of the same teams so far, but clearly both the Knicks and the Cavaliers this past week settled into that coverage for long stretches. The zone excels at taking away dribble penetration and for long stretches the HEAT couldn’t find their way, but it was that three-minute stretch in the middle of the fourth that decided this one, Mitchell getting things started and capping the run off with one-on-one drives, finishing from the left side with his left hand. A once dominant 60-40 Knicks advantage in the paint finished just 64-56, meaning Miami scored 16 in the paint in the last seven or so minutes.

What does this all mean? We won’t know until more games come. We need to know if more teams are going to sit in zone for long stretches, we need to know if the HEAT can continue their scorching start from three this season, and we need to know how effective the zone can be at limiting the core tenant – dribble penetration – of this new offense, and what they’re doing well in the bursts where they can get near the restricted area against such a coverage.

Maybe not the most exciting thing from an exciting win, but by far the aspect of the evening most likely to affect the rest of the season.

Powell had 19 points on 20 shots – an inefficient night for him with a strong finish – Kel’el Ware (team-high plus-eight) had 16 points and 14 rebounds, Fontecchio and Smith added seven threes between them to keep the offense alive against the zone, and Pelle Larsson again contributed at all levels.

The player of the game, though, was Mitchell. There’s no doubt about that.

The lasting image of this one is McBride’s trying, over and over, to burst by Mitchell and Mitchell stopping him, over and over, with his hands out and his chest forward, McBride’s momentum stopped in its tracks. It happened in the first quarter, the second, the third and, especially, late in the fourth when he cut off McBride’s final drive to force a tough shot.

With so much of it coming off penetration against the zone, 18 points on 12 shots was the efficiency Miami needed on an inefficient (110.7 Offensive Rating) night, but even though Mitchell didn’t get credited for a single steal his defense was the bedrock of this one, the thing that stalled out New York in the biggest moments.

By ML Staff. Courtesy of NBA.