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NBA highlights on March 25: Heat about to step down as East Leader
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R.J. Barrett (#9) of the New York Knicks tries to penetrate in the game against the Miami Heat at FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

R.J. Barrett (#9) of the New York Knicks tries to penetrate in the game against the Miami Heat at FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

The New York Knicks defeated the Miami Heat 111-103 at FTX Arena on Friday to secure their second straight win.

The Knicks trailed in every of the first three quarter and entered the last one with a 15-point deficit. Their big rally happened as Immanuel Quickley shot 5 for 9 in field goals and made all right free throws to score 20 points for the team in the fourth quarter.

"Every day, we just try to get better," Quickley said.

The Knicks also did better in rebounding (43-35), especially on the offensive glass (18-8), which enabled them to score twice second-chance points as the Heat did.

Immanuel Quickley of the New York Knicks looks on after the 111-103 win over the Miami Heat at FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

Immanuel Quickley of the New York Knicks looks on after the 111-103 win over the Miami Heat at FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

"These guys have been great," Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They've been practicing well, they're playing winning basketball and we just want to keep getting better."

The Knicks are 32-42 after Friday's win, five games behind No. 10 Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference. They are basically hopeless to attend the play-in tournament with only eight games to go. The good news is that most of the franchise is still young, promising and continuously improving. They can still make their presence felt in the East as long as they pull themselves together and find the right core to build around.

The Heat watched their lead drop to 0.5 games over the following Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks. Even the fourth Boston Celtics are only one game away. The four teams will meet each other in the rest of the season, making the final top four rankings in the East even more unpredictable.

Jimmy Butler (L) of the Miami Heat passes in the game against the New York Knicks at FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

Jimmy Butler (L) of the Miami Heat passes in the game against the New York Knicks at FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

Friday's game was not only the third straight loss of the Heat, but also the third consecutive game in which they trailed in the last quarter. The team had league leading 3-point rate of 37.3 percent and could make 13.3 triples per game, the sixth-best in the NBA. However, when things really heated up in the fourth quarter and both sides became more focused than ever on defense, the Heat usually found themselves in an awkward position: they lacked the guy who could offer the offensive solution disregarding the opponents' defense.

Tyler Herro is the closest player the Heat have to this category, but he missed the past two games because of injury. Even when he was on the court, he's a defensive liability.

"A lot of bad bounces, in my opinion," Bam Adebayo said. "Collectively, just got to get in the trenches again, look at film and bounce back."

Trae Young (#11) of the Atlanta Hawks shoots in the game against the Golden State Warriors at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

Trae Young (#11) of the Atlanta Hawks shoots in the game against the Golden State Warriors at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

Warriors lose to Hawks without Curry

The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Golden State Warriors 121-110 at State Farm Arena on Friday bounce back from the loss on the road on Wednesday.

All five starters of the Hawks scored double-digit points, led by 33 of Trae Young who also had 15 assists. Young kept forcing the Warriors to change their defensive plan with his individual offensive threat and punished them immediately when any of the Hawks was left open in the paint.

Young's team shot 28 for 41 to score 56 points in the paint under his orchestrating.

Trae Young (C) of the Atlanta Hawks passes in the game against the Golden State Warriors at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

Trae Young (C) of the Atlanta Hawks passes in the game against the Golden State Warriors at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

"We knew what we needed to do is get stops," Young said. "They went on a run, hit some tough 3s and contested 3s. Late in the game, it comes down to getting stops and executing down the stretch. We did a good job of doing that. Klay hit some tough shots, but it was good to get some stops."

The Hawks were 41-31 and fifth in the East last season. They are currently 37-37, still hopeful of reaching 41 wins but can hardly surpass the sixth Cleveland Cavaliers to skip the play-in tournament. If the Hawks begin postseason as 10th in the East, they will need to beat two of the three teams of Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets.

Friday's game was the fourth game the Warriors played without Stephen Curry and they lost three of them.

Klay Thompson (#11) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

Klay Thompson (#11) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson worked hard and well enough to combine 13 triples, 61 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, but only Andrew Wiggins of the rest of the team made one 3-pointer, not to mention that he only had nine points. Gary Payton II was the third Warriors with double-digit points.

Having ruled James Wiseman out for the rest of the season, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr understandably started Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga to test the feasibility of new small-ball squad. Obviously it didn't work well. Neither Green nor Kuminga was a trustworthy 3-point shooter, they would only hurt the spacing for each other by playing together on the floor.

However, Kerr had to do such experiments because Kevon Looney is already an undersized center. Going small is an integral part of the Warriors' game and Kuminga makes an important piece of the team's future with his gifts. The sooner he grows and adapts to Kerr's system, the more assured the Warriors would feel about longer future.

Jonathan Kuminga (#00) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

Jonathan Kuminga (#00) of the Golden State Warriors shoots in the game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 25, 2022. /CFP

Unfortunately, one of the costs of doing so was ridiculous underperformance of the team from time to time. For example, the Warriors shot 7 for 21 to score only 16 points in the third quarter. They still led by six points (67-61) before the last two minutes of the second quarter, but found themselves trail by two (69-67) when the second quarter was over.

"The last two minutes (of the second quarter) were kind of a disaster," Kerr said. "We turned the ball over, took some tough shots. They got out in transition, hit some 3s and I thought that carried to the second half. They felt more confident and they dominated that third quarter. That was the key stretch. From the two-minute mark of the second and into the third, they took over the game."

The Warriors are 48-26 after Friday's loss, remaining third in the Western Conference, three games behind the second Memphis Grizzlies and three games above the fourth Utah Jazz. The Warriors' opponents in the playoffs unlikely to be either the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Denver Nuggets.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Utah Jazz 101-107 Charlotte Hornets

Washington Wizards 100-97 Detroit Pistons

Dallas Mavericks 95-116 Minnesota Timberwolves

Houston Rockets 125-106 Portland Trail Blazers

Philadelphia 76ers 122-97 Los Angeles Clippers

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