Karl-Anthony Towns enjoyed his best game as a Knick, scoring 44 points and grabbing 13 rebounds as visiting New York defeated the Miami Heat 116-107 on Wednesday night.
Towns made 17 of 25 shots from the floor, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, in 39 minutes. His previous season high since joining New York in an offseason trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves had been 21 points.
Jalen Brunson added 22 points and nine assists with just one turnover for the Knicks, and Mikal Bridges contributed 17 points and six assists.
Tyler Herro led Miami with 34 points and seven assists. He made 12 of 20 shots, including 8 of 13 from beyond the arc. Terry Rozier scored 16 points, but the Knicks held down Jimmy Butler (15 points) and Bam Adebayo (11 points).
Miami was again without power forward Kevin Love (personal reasons).
Herro scored 14 points and dished three assists to help give Miami a 32-26 first-quarter lead. Towns had 12 points for the Knicks, who couldn’t overcome Miami’s 60 percent shooting.
The teams played to a standstill in the second quarter as Miami took a 58-52 lead into halftime. Towns led all second-quarter scorers with 12 points.
Miami stretched its lead to 13 points early in the third quarter, but the Knicks answered with an 11-0 run that featured 3-pointers from Brunson and OG Anunoby. New York finally regained the lead, 79-77, on a Brunson 3-pointer with 3:34 left in the third.
By the end of the third quarter, the Knicks led 87-80. Brunson led all third-quarter scorers with 10 points as New York shot 57.1 percent from the floor as opposed to 31.8 percent for Miami.
Towns scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to help seal the Knicks’ victory.
For the game, the Knicks shot 48.8 percent from the floor, including 18-for-40 on 3-point attempts (45 percent).
The Knicks also shot 90 percent from the foul line (18-for-20).
After a hot start, Miami shot just 45.7 from the floor for the game, including 17-for-40 from long range (42.5 percent).
The Heat misfired from the foul line, making 16 of 24 (66.7 percent).