The New York Knicks are now coming off back-to-back losses following two tough matchups against the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers. Tuesday's loss to LeBron James and Co., in particular, was a deflating overtime defeat for the Knicks who are scheduled for another marquee matchup on Thursday night against the Miami Heat.

The 27-25 Knicks currently occupy the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference. Two games ahead of them at sixth are the Heat. New York star Jalen Brunson understands the importance of Thursday's clash and he knows what to expect from Miami:

Very important. Got to find a way to just get over the hump,” Brunson said, via Peter Botte of the New York Post. “Obviously, they have great personnel, a culture that they talk about all the time.

“So they’re going to come in, they’re going to play hard. We’ve got to match their energy and pick it up on the defensive end. Offensively, we’re scoring a lot of points. Defensively is where we’ve got to pick it up.”

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The sixth seed in the East is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs while the seventh-placed squad will need to go through the play-in tournament. There's still a long way to go for the regular season, but Jalen Brunson and the Knicks are well aware of the implications of Wednesday's game and their hopes of securing a spot in the postseason.

For their part, the Heat are on a bit of a roll of late, winning four out of their last five games. They will want to keep it going against the Knicks, and it goes without saying that it would be sweet to secure a win in Madison Square Garden.