On March 26, Beijing time, the First Heat in the East was tragically reversed by the Knicks, losing 103-111. The Heat suffered three consecutive losses, with a record of 47 wins and 27 losses, just 0.5 wins ahead of the Bucks, and the first place in the East was precarious.
In this game, the Heat once led by 17 points, but collapsed in the final quarter, and the Knicks played a 38-15. Although Jimmy Butler had 30 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, he played average in the final quarter. Butler scored 25 points in the first three quarters and only five in the final quarter, with two turnovers. Butler, the team's leader, did not come forward at a crucial moment.
Butler had a heated argument with substitute veteran Haslem in the last game. Haslem was at one point very angry and offered to squash Butler. Although after the game, coach Spollstra said that the conflict was caused by the team's competitiveness and competitiveness, which was not a big deal, and after the game, everyone thought about where to eat and would not take this small matter to heart.
But the open clashes on the sidelines have exposed the lack of harmony in the Heat's dressing room. Teams that are not harmonious enough will not communicate so smoothly during the game and may have power outages.
The Heat's last loss to the Warriors who lacked Curry, Tang Shen and Green was once powered off and the Warriors played an offensive climax. This time, the Heat made the same mistake again. The Heat took the lead most of the time, leading by up to 17 points. The Heat led by 15 points at 88-73 into the final quarter, and it was Markive Morris who scored from mid-range to give them a 17-point lead. But the Heat then lost power, the Knicks set off a ferocious counterattack, Quakeley scored 8 consecutive points, and after Lowry hit two free throws, the Knicks hit an 11-0 offensive wave. Counting the previous points, the Knicks played a 19-2 offensive wave in the last quarter, thus erasing the 17-point deficit in one fell swoop.
Butler broke through to score when he returned to the game, but he then made two consecutive turnovers, and the Knicks took the opportunity to complete the rebound. Butler also didn't help, with 29.4 seconds left in the game, Butler shooting a three-pointer, but the Heat still trailed by four points 103-107, and the team could only resort to foul tactics. Quakeli made all four of his last four free throws to win the battle.
Once again, Jimmy Butler failed to take on leadership duties. Before the game, Butler gave Lowry, who had turned 36, a Rolex watch as a birthday present. Lowry deliberately took a photo to joke about having a teammate with a top salary.
But on the court, Neither Butler nor the Heat played the expected performance. Heat collapse, is this the after-effects of infighting? Obviously, the heat situation is not good, and the first position in the east is in jeopardy.