Knicks starters offer Jalen Brunson little help in Game 6 loss to Heat

The Knicks came just short of forcing a Game 7 after Friday's 96-92 loss to the Miami Heat, but it could have been a different story if most of the starters contributed more.

Every Knicks starter not named Jalen Brunson had an off night. Julius Randle, a 2023 All-Star and All-NBA Third Team selection, scored 15 points on 3-of-14 shooting. RJ Barrett added just 11 points on 1-of-10 shooting. Mitchell Robinson (two points) and Quentin Grimes (three points) didn’t shoulder the offensive burden from Brunson either.

Those four starters were a combined 5-for-32 from the field. Brunson, who scored a game-high 41 points, was 14-of-22.

“I played terrible,” Barrett said. “I’m very disappointed in how I played today. I don’t know. It’s a lot right now. You fight for something, want something so bad. I personally feel like I didn’t play my best. It hurts, but it’s good to have experiences like these. You can learn from them. [Miami’s] a good team, very poised. And we can learn from that.”

Randle echoed Barrett.

“Disappointed -- we wanted more, expected more, but we’ll be back,” Randle said. “A lot of good moments. Lot of moments of growth, things we should be proud of. We’ll take time to reevaluate and figure out what we can do better to move forward.”

Randle missed the final five games of the regular season with a sprained ankle and re-injured it in the Knicks’ first-round series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, he says he doesn’t use it as an excuse for his play in the semifinal round against the Heat.

"Every night in the playoffs, it’s different," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "You’re not going to be great in every game. No one is. You can have an off game and you have to bounce back in the next game. Take what we learn from it and work all summer to get better. Julius is still young -- he’s going into his prime now. We’re looking forward to what’s coming next."

Entering Friday’s game, Randle averaged 19.8 points, 10 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in the series. But when the Knicks needed him, Randle had trouble finding the bottom of the net -- especially in the fourth quarter. In that final frame, the starters -- minus Brunson -- scored five points and were a combined 0-for-6.

When asked why he thought the starters struggled in Game 6, Randle couldn’t give a definitive answer.

“Eventually, I’ll go back in the offseason and look at the film and see how we can help J out,” Randle said of Brunson. “It’s tough to say.”

With preseason expectations exceeded, the Knicks will now enter an offseason with loftier goals. A trip to the semifinals won’t be good enough for this Knicks team, but for them to go further, they’ll need more from the starters.