RJ Barrett wasn’t in a Super Bowl scoring mode on Sunday, but when he made a defensive mistake on a pick-and-roll cover, it was the last straw for Tom Thibodeau.
Barrett was taken out in the middle of the third quarter and never came back, finishing with three points, as the Heat escaped with a 109-103 victory in the garden.
Barrett, who has averaged 19 points in his last 12 games, was not available for comment after the game.
“Just looking,” Thibodeau said when asked about Barrett’s joke. “It simply came to our notice then. That’s why I did what I did. Obviously, I’m very happy with RJ in general. We’ll take a look at the film and make corrections. ”
Julius Randle was his usual regular, in 2020-21, in 26 points and added 12 rebounds and seven assists. Reggie Bullock was on fire from 3 points, equaling a career high of seven 3, for 21 points.
But the Knicks (11-14) have shown that they can only win if Barrett is a major factor and he was unpresented. Barrett played just 19 minutes and shot 1 of 6, while the Knicks broke their winning streak in two games. Barrett was without a score in the first half.
According to sources, the Knicks agreed on a deal with Detroit to acquire veteran goalkeeper and Thibodeau’s favorite, Derrick Rose, to give them a more offensive firepower in the closing minutes.
The Knicks were frozen at the end as they tried to return. Randle missed a 3 corner with the Knicks down 103-99 with 1:33 left. Still down 3, Alec Burks – in play for Barrett – scored a 3-pointer in front.
Miami’s Tyler Herro came down and won with his own triple, with 33 seconds left, while Miami, a 2020 NBA finalist, reversed recent luck to go 9-14. The Heat had lost seven of the previous nine.
“You have to do stretch plays,” Thibodeau said. “You have to understand that the fourth trimester is different. Decision making is different. Officials allow more to continue more in terms of physicality. We need to understand that part of it. “
Rose can do all those things late in the game and did that for the Knicks in 2016-17, when she averaged 18 points per game. Barrett has yet to show a strong talent for being closer. Even in their recent Chicago win, Barrett missed three straight shots on goal.
Meanwhile, Bullock, who started all 20 games he played, hit in six triples in the first half in eight attempts. Bullock received a pass from Randle in the double team.
The Knicks equalized a maximum season with 17 3, but it was not enough, as they scored only 44 points in the second half.
Bullock’s shot allowed the Knicks to be 60-59 at the break. But that was too many points for Thibodeau’s pleasure.
“We’ve never been defensive since the beginning of the game,” Thibodeau said. “I’m a different team when Jimmy [Butler] play. Offensively I liked the first half, but defensively we have to be much better. There were several goods that we defended quite well, but we didn’t finish our defense. Against such a team, they will continue to move and we have to play all the time. ”
Before the game, Thibodeau enjoyed Butler, his former player who finished with 17 points and nine assists.
Thibodeau said the Heat are battling various Butler injuries and other COVID-19 absences. The Heat are now 6-5 with Butler and 3-9 without.
“To say I saw him as a superstar, I didn’t see that,” Thibodeau said. “That’s why you can never measure what’s in a person’s heart or head. He is such a great worker and he is so smart. He plays the right way, he plays to win. “