The Miami Heat had all the momentum on their side heading into their Game 5 matchup against the New York Knicks in their Eastern Conference semifinals series. After winning both of their games in Miami and holding a 3-1 series lead, it seemed like the Heat were destined to end New York's season in Game 5. Instead, they lost 112-103, and will head back to Miami looking to wrap up the series on their home court.
The Heat jumped out to a 24-14 lead after the first quarter, but struggled to slow down the Knicks Jalen Brunson-led attack the rest of the way out, as he dropped 38 points and added seven assists to keep the Knicks alive. Meanwhile, nobody on the Heat scored over 20 points, as their offense, particularly their three-point shooting, went cold at the wrong time in this one.
Miami still holds a 3-2 series lead, and will be playing in front of their fans as they look to wrap up this series in Game 6. But they passed up a great opportunity to not only advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, but also give themselves some time to rest up and heal too. Unfortunately, things don't always come easy in the NBA, so before we shift our focus to Game 6, let's look back at Game 5 and pick out the three players most responsible for the Heat's loss.
3. Kyle Lowry
Kyle Lowry's role for the Heat early on in the playoffs has been all over the place, and he ended up playing nearly 31 minutes in Game 5, largely due to necessity. Lowry wasn't awful in this game, as he certainly had some bright moments, but his overall play left a lot to be desired, and it's safe to say Erik Spoelstra probably doesn't want to have to play him for 30 minutes in Game 6.
Lowry's offensive stats are fairly ugly (9 PTS, 5 AST, 1 REB, 3-11 FGM) and he played a big role in Miami's awful night of shooting in this one. Lowry was OK on defense, as he spent most of his time guarding either RJ Barrett or Jalen Brunson, but both guys were fairly quiet when he found himself on them.
Lowry has had his moments in the playoffs, but his play runs very hot or cold, and relying on him for consistent production is not something the Heat will be looking to do. It will be interesting to see how much Lowry plays in Game 6, because if he can get hot, he could end up tilting the scales in the Heat's favor.
2. Kevin Love
Kevin Love certainly had his opportunity to put together a big outing in Game 5, but he ended up playing himself off of the floor. Love hasn't been particularly great throughout the postseason, but the threat of him getting hot from behind the arc certainly looms large, which makes having him on the floor very beneficial for the Heat and their offense.
In Game 5, though, Love had a very rough outing on offense (4 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 2-10 FGM) and failed to take advantage of the opportunities the Knicks were giving him. Love missed all seven of his three point attempts, and while he held his own on defense in a similar manner as Lowry, Miami desperately needed someone to step up and start hitting shots for them in this game.
Love will continue to see minutes as a floor-spacing big for Miami, but again, relying on him for production is going to kill the Heat. They were hit pretty hard by his struggles in this game, and it will be interesting to see whether or not Love can find his shooting stroke in Game 6 to help the Heat advance to the ECF.
1. Gabe Vincent
Gabe Vincent scored 20+ points in Games 1 & 2 of this series, but he has only managed to score a combined 14 points in the ensuing three games. Vincent was mired in foul trouble throughout this one, forcing Lowry into the action, and when he was on the court, he was easily the worst player for the Heat.
Offensively, Vincent was awful once again (6 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 3-10 FGM), with his shooting percentage over the past three games now sitting at 20 percent. It can't get much worse than that. Defensively, Vincent was the primary culprit for Brunson's big night, as he scored 13 points on 4-7 shooting when Vincent was his primary defender.
Even considering how he played just over 23 minutes in this game, Vincent found a way to hurt his team in a massive way during that period of time. The Heat should be able to get by the Knicks without Vincent playing at a high level, but assuming they move on, he is going to have to figure things out if Miami wants to win a championship.
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