Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said during the NBA Finals last October he’d like to build a gritty defensive culture like Pat Riley’s Miami Heat.
Thibodeau has done an excellent job at trying to get there, but his Knicks still can’t beat the Heat.
Their three-game winning streak snapped, the Knicks allowed Miami to sweep the season series, 3-0, as Thibodeau’s favorite player, Jimmy Butler, led a second-half comeback with 27 points.
With Miami getting down and dirtier than the Knicks, the Heat powered to the 98-88 victory at the Garden.
“We knew it would be this type of that game based on the previous games we had against them,” Thibodeau said. “There wasn’t a lot of rhythm to the game. It was fight, scratch, claw every inch of the court. It’s not easy to get a rhythm in that type of game.”
After making The Finals in the Orlando bubble last season, the Heat have been a major disappointment and came to the Garden on a six-game losing streak, shockingly trailing the Knicks in the standings. But they looked like the bubble Heat in defending with Riley-like menacing glee.
The Knicks shot just 41 percent and, worse, gave up 12 offensive rebounds.
“We got all shots we wanted, we just didn’t make them,’’ Julius Randle said. “When we’re not making shots the way we want to, we got to be able to tighten up on the defensive end and get stops which we didn’t in the third quarter. And then they controlled the glass which I have to do a better job of. Everything they did to beat us we felt like it’s on us and manageable. I could do a better job starting with me.’’
Randle, who missed his season’s first game in Milwaukee on Saturday, didn’t have any rhythm despite a strong finish. He finished with 22 points but shot just 7 of 17 with five turnovers. Randle said he got “aggressive’’ too late.
“When you miss a game like that, you don’t have your normal rhythm,’’ Thibodeau said.
Swingman RJ Barrett was outplayed by Butler, who scored 15 points in the third quarter when Miami seized control. Barrett finished with just eight points on 4 of 12 shooting — missing double figures for the first time in 15 outings. Butler also had six assists and five rebounds.
“He’s a really smart player, he knows how to get to the basket,’’ Barrett said. “He knows how to draw fouls. He gets assists. He’s a real offensive talent.’’
In the bunched-up East, the Knicks fell to 24-23, in fifth place, while the eighth-place Heat improved to 23-24.
There’s always a possibility of the two 1990’s rivals facing off in the play-in tournament that includes seeds 7-10.
Miami played a zone designed to challenge the Knicks’ shooting from deep, but Thibodeau said his club has been good against that defense all season.
“We didn’t make shots early on,’’ Thibodeau said. “The shooting piece is critical. But we had a seven-point lead at the half and we came out those first five minutes and they got us.’’
Miami’s defense forced the Knicks into missing their first eight shots during a 16-point first quarter. The Knicks climbed out of it in the second period when a 16-0 run saw them take control — 43-36 at halftime in a defensive slugfest.
Butler got rolling in the third quarter, dropped in nine straight points as the Heat tied it at 47-47 with 9:10 left and they were off to the win.
Early in the fourth, Miami scored on a Tyler Herro 3-pointer after a possession in which the Heat scrapped for three offensive rebounds. Two of them were by forward Bam Adebayo, who finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds — seven on the offensive glass.
“We just have to scrap and play harder, which is really what it comes down to,’’ Randle said. “Rebounding is all effort and energy.’’
