Kelly Olynyk's Big Night Carries Heat Over Knicks
MIAMI (AP) — Kelly Olynyk scored 22 points and handed out a career-high 10 assists, Tyler Johnson added 22 points and the Miami Heat had little trouble on the way to beating the New York Knicks 119-98 on Wednesday night.
Wayne Ellington scored 16, Justise Winslow added 15, Goran Dragic had 14 and Josh Richardson finished with 12 for the Heat, who remained seventh in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Olynyk's previous high for assists was eight, done twice. He scored 52 points, had 16 assists and grabbed 13 rebounds in Miami's brief two-game homestand, with the Heat winning both outings.
Enes Kanter scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Knicks. Michael Beasley added 22 points on 10 for 15 shooting for New York, and Trey Burke scored 16 off the bench.
Miami held a 27-8 edge in points off turnovers, and shot 56 percent. The Heat were 15 for 34 from 3-point range.
Miami led 64-47 at the half, before the Knicks quickly made things interesting. Hardaway's 3-pointer got the Knicks within 72-63 with 5 minutes gone in the third quarter, but the Heat — who are on the cusp of setting a franchise record for 3s made in a season — went to the long ball to take command right back.
Johnson made consecutive 3-pointers to start a personal 8-0 run that restored the 17-point edge, the lead eventually swelled to as much as 28 and the Heat emptied their bench with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Lance Thomas (family matter) remained away from the team, and Emmanuel Mudiay started despite a sore ankle. ... Beasley was 4 for 4 in the first quarter. He's only been better than that once in an opening period — 5 for 5 for Milwaukee against Detroit on Feb. 13, 2017. ... New York had a two-game winning streak — its longest since mid-December — snapped.
Heat: Dwyane Wade (hamstring) and Hassan Whiteside (hip flexor) remained sidelined. Wade is close to a return, but the Heat haven't set a timetable. ... Ellington's third 3-pointer was his 200th of the season, making him the third Heat player with that many in a season. He joins Damon Jones (225) and Tim Hardaway Sr. (203). ... The 17-point halftime lead was Miami's fourth-largest this season.
LIFE OF RILEY
Heat President Pat Riley turned 73 on Tuesday. New York won seven playoff series in his four years as Knicks coach, and has won nine playoff series in the 23 seasons since he left for Miami.
ROAD WOES
The Knicks are 8-29 on the road this season — and two of those wins were at Brooklyn, which means they're 6-29 outside of New York.
TENNIS IN TOWN
The Miami Open started this week, and among those in the sold-out crowd for Knicks-Heat were tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Alex Zverev.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host Minnesota on Friday.
Heat: Visit Oklahoma City on Friday.
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