The Knicks lost Game 4 of their series against the Miami Heat due to stupid mistakes, not taking care of the ball and poor rebounding.
The Knicks lost Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Heat,109-101.
New York made some real stupid mistakes in that cost them a chance to tie the series 2-2 heading back to New York.
This game was a fun offensive game and included an entertaining third quarter where both teams were lights out from three.
If I wasn't a Knicks fan, I would love the three-point show that was happening from both teams with the Heat having the upper hand shooting the ball.
Three reasons the Knicks lost Game 4 to the Heat
Poor bench scoring
The Knicks had the better team overall going into the series but it certainly didn't seem like it in this game. NY only had 10 points off the bench as they really struggled to score. It didn't help at all that this team ran into foul trouble and had to replace Randle with someone off the bench to finish the game.
They didn't really play a lot of heavy minutes but Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein were unable to get active on the offensive end. Hart ran into foul trouble while Hartenstein should have had a way better game against the Heat's backup bigs.
Defensive rebounding in the fourth quarter
The Knicks allowed seven offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter. This was a very poor performance on the glass and part of the reason that they lost this game. The Heat were unable to score early in the fourth quarter and were able to capitalize on second-chance opportunities that the Knicks allowed.
In a close game every possession counts, the Heat were able to get extra shots due to the fact that the Knicks couldn't rebound. This wasn't the only reason they lost in the fourth quarter but it was among of the top reasons.
It really seemed like the Knicks lost the battle in the paint in this game. For a team who had the better group of big men in this series, this was a major area for the Knicks to falter.
Knicks turnovers
It was really tempting to put the poor shooting in the fourth quarter here but the Heat also shot horribly in the fourth.
New York ended up with 17 turnovers, with a lot of them occurring in the early part of the game. They weren't able to take care of the ball and with the game ending up being a three-possession game, those turnovers really hurt.
Six of those turnovers came from Randle. Jalen Brunson had five turnovers as well.
The Knicks really made some stupid mistakes in this game and it cost them. This series is most likely over and it is a real shame because some simple errors cost this New York team a chance to head to the Eastern Conference Finals.