MIAMI — Scores of New Yorkers flock to South Florida in March for Spring Break to have a jolly time, and Friday night, the Knicks’ youngsters had the time of their lives.
After a real boring three quarters, with the Knicks trailing the mighty Heat by 15 points, they started throwing a party — with Immanuel Quickley and rookies Miles McBride, Quentin Grimes and Jericho Sims at the life of that fiesta.
It wasn’t Saint Peter’s, but it was good enough as the Knicks rallied to stun the first-place Heat, 111-103, at FTX Arena. The Knicks (32-42) won their second straight game, after bombing the Hornets on Wednesday, and closed to within five games of 10th place Atlanta in the Eastern Conference with eight to play.
Quickley exploded for 23 points, 20 in the final period, and sealed the victory with six straight free throws. It marked coach Tom Thibodeau’s first win over Miami since he became the Knicks’ head coach last season. He was 0-5 entering the contest.
After the 38-15 fourth quarter, Quickley entered the interview room in dark shades — appropriately enough.
“They are where we want to be — top of the East,’’ Quickley said. “To come out here against a great team and get a big win, that’s what we’re capable of doing. Playing fast, playing free, that’s where we’re at an advantage. We like to play with a lead but if we’re down, we try not to panic.”
After back-to-back 3-pointers by Grimes, one set up on an offensive rebound by Sims, the Knicks took the lead — their first since early in the first quarter — at 97-94 with 4:55 left. The once-quiet contingent of Knicks fans let out a big roar in the downtown Miami arena.
During their run, McBride blocked Heat star guard Kyle Lowry’s shot and raced in for a layup to bring the Knicks within 92-89. They had trailed 88-73 entering the fourth but McBride’s defense against Lowry, one of his idols, was critical.
“This was huge — obviously it wasn’t easy, they are No. 1 for a reason,’’ McBride said. “Their offense is well run. They might’ve gotten a little lax. We took advantage and Quick did his thing.”
Thibodeau commended his best defensive guard.
“Not an easy cover, because of his ability to shoot but also his ability to draw fouls,” Thibodeau said. “He came up with the big rebound in traffic. Those are winning-type plays. And so, it’s terrific.”
The Knicks made most of their big fourth-quarter surge with RJ Barrett on the bench amid a rough night (5-for-17, 18 points) and Julius Randle out for a third straight game with a sore quad. Evan Fournier also sat the entire fourth quarter after a shoddy shooting night (2-for-11).
Thibodeau added an odd twist to his press conference when he said he’s tired of this season being viewed by media and social media as starters versus the bench, young versus old.
“It’s a long season,” Thibodeau said of the young guns. “You need everyone. That’s why you have a bench and depth. Depth is critical in today’s NBA.
“They were the same young legs we had in the first half. You guys are trying to nitpick this, nitpick that. You need everyone across the course of a season. We love our young guys. They bring it everyday. Theyr’e supposed to bring energy. You need RJ, you need Julius, you need [Mitchell Robinson], you need Evan, you need Alec [Burks]. You need everyone. It’s a team — not an individual thing.’’
Obi Toppin added 15 points for the Knicks, but wasn’t part of the fourth-quarter romp, when Taj Gibson was the second big on the court.
Quickley hit a big lefty driving banker to put the Knicks up by four with 2:20 left. Quickley went in on a fast break after intercepting a pass at midcourt to give the Knicks a seven-point bulge with 1:12 left.
The Heat controlled the first half, scoring 24 points in the paint and leading by as much as 14 points. Miami’s Jimmy Butler scored 17 of his 30 points in the first half.
Robinson returned from a sore back, but Thibodeau still started Sims, who scored six points with seven rebounds and was a team-high plus-17.
“Our grit, our toughness, I think we’ve shown that a lot this year, being able to come back from large deficits,” Quickley said.
