It was the shorthanded Knicks who would draw first blood and score the first two buckets of the game. Miami struggled to score in the opening minutes, but thanks to a short jumper by Luke Babbitt eventually got on the board.
Regardless, it was the Knicks’ Willy Hernangomez who would cause the Heat much grief early scoring 7 of their opening nine points. Ron Baker and Kristaps Porzingis would contribute from beyond the arc creating a large scoring gap.
Though the Heat did eventually find their offensive rhythm thanks to Goran Dragic but, their defense remained poor allowing the Knicks to find many open looks from three.