Friday night's game in Miami was one to forget for the Knicks, as the Heat led from opening tip to the final whistle, winning 129-114 to hand the Knicks their 22nd loss in 29 games.
And on a night when most of the Knicks starters struggled as a whole, with RJ Barrett shooting just 1-of-10 from the floor while Julius Randle went 3-of-13, the Knicks did receive a boost off the bench in the form of Bobby Portis.
In a 24-minute run off the bench, Portis scored a season-high 30 points, shooting 12-of-17 from the floor. Portis drained four three-pointers and added eight rebounds and three steals as well.
"Bobby was outstanding," interim head coach Mike Miller said after the game. "He had a good turn in the first half and played outstanding in the second half."
After the game, Portis didn't put too much stock into his 30-point performance, saying the loss was all that he cared about.
"We lost the game. Scoring 30 points and we lost the game, it doesn't matter," Portis told reporters in Miami. "I'm a team guy. I love to win basketball games. It doesn't matter to me if I have two, four, five, six points. I just want to win the game."
Overall, the Knicks's five starters -- Barrett, Randle, Marcus Morris, Taj Gibson, and Frank Ntilikina -- went a combined 11-for-35 from the floor, good for just 31.4 percent.
Miami jumped out to an early lead on the Knicks, and they never took their foot off the gas. Up 39-20 at the end of the first, Miami increased their lead to 23 points by halftime. In the second half, the Heat jumped out even further, pushing their lead as high as 34 points.
Miami would rest their starters for all of the fourth quarter. Still, the Heat shot 55.8 percent from the floor, while going 18-of-38 (47.4 percent) from three-point range.
"They were getting everything they wanted," Portis said. "They were getting lobs at the rim, getting open threes. It wasn't our best game, defensively. They exposed us a little bit on the defensive end. … We've got a game tomorrow and we can go in there and try to correct it."
The Knicks indeed return home on Saturday night, but they'll face reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, the team with the NBA's best record at 25-4.