Jimmy Butler was on the court, writing in pain.
There was about five minutes remaining in Sunday’s Game 1, and it felt, during that brief moment, that Butler’s badly twisted ankle shifted the game, perhaps the series, to the Knicks.
Except it didn’t work out like that. At least not in Game 1. Butler never subbed out. He emerged out of the timeout to bury two free throws. He was clearly under physical distress, limping around the court down the stretch.
But it was the Knicks who were shellshocked at MSG, not the Heat.
In the two minutes following Butler’s injury, the Knicks were outscored, 9-2, and that stretch became the story of Miami’s 108-101 victory Sunday at MSG. Butler was nothing more than a decoy in the final minutes, standing around the perimeter while watching teammates Kyle Lowry, Gabe Vincent and Bam Adebayo bury the home team.
Butler still finished with 25 points and 11 boards. The Knicks, playing without Julius Randle, had no rebuttal. They shot just 20.6% on 3-pointers, with starters Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and RJ Barrett combining to go 1-for-16 from deep.
The Heat is wounded and depleted, missing Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo for the entire series. Its rotation includes the undrafted (Caleb Martin, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson) and the elderly (Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry).
The Knicks are more talented and deeper. But it didn’t matter with so many missed shots and New York’s porous halfcourt defense. The Heat, seeded eighth, arrived the underdogs, a position it’s clearly comfortable occupying after dumping No. 1 Milwaukee in the opening round.
The Garden was predictably rocking for the franchise’s first second-round series in a decade. Despite the 1 p.m. tipoff, the stands were packed during the anthem and intros. They booed Butler and cheered Brunson.
The crowd showed up, following up on Hart’s request.
“We need MSG to be rocking even more than the last two games,” Hart said after the Knicks eliminated the Cavs. “We need them every game we have them. We feed off that energy.”
Randle was ruled out because of the sprained ankle he sustained Wednesday, thrusting Obi Toppin into the starting lineup. Randle’s absence freed up opportunities for Barrett, who scored a game-high 26 points despite misfiring on treys.
Randle went through a frenzied workout pregame, working up a sweat with the understanding it would serve as his daily cardio because he wasn’t playing. Still, Thibodeau kept up the charade in his press conference, saying Randle was a game-time decision.
He wasn’t.
Quentin Grimes returned from a two-game absence because of a bruised shoulder, but he was removed from the starting lineup for Hart.