Game ID: 22500398
Miami Heat @ New York Knicks
Sunday, December 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 30 36 39 27 132MIA 37 25 37 26 125
MIA @ NYK ScoutingMIA @ NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NYK availability going into 12/09 · 1 day's restOUT Shamet missed 8 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK Anunoby back 12/05 after 9, 25 min since (75% of 33)
NEW McBride 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Clarkson 16 to 23 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/13
OUT Shamet missed 9 since 11/24, tonight's box is missing
BACK Anunoby back 12/05 after 9, 29 min since (86% of 33)
NEW Clarkson 16 to 24 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/18 · 4 days' restOUT Shamet missed 9 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK Anunoby back 12/05 after 9, 29 min since (86% of 33)
NEW Clarkson 16 to 24 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/19 · back-to-backOUT McBride missed 2 since 12/09, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 10 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK Anunoby back 12/05 after 9, 30 min since (90% of 33)
NEW Clarkson 16 to 26 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/21 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 3 since 12/09, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 11 since 11/24, out tonight
NEW Clarkson 16 to 22 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 4 since 12/09, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 12 since 11/24, out tonight
NEW Bridges 33 to 38 min over the last 4
NEW Clarkson 16 to 22 min over the last 4
NEW Kolek 11 to 18 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 5 since 12/09, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 13 since 11/24, out tonight
NEW Bridges 33 to 38 min over the last 4
NEW Hart 31 to 37 min over the last 3
NEW Robinson 18 to 25 min over the last 3
NEW Clarkson 16 to 23 min over the last 4
NEW Kolek 11 to 24 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/27 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 6 since 12/09, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 14 since 11/24, out tonight
NEW Bridges 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Clarkson 16 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Kolek 11 to 24 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 7 since 12/09, returns tonight: 18 min (78% of 24)
OUT Shamet missed 15 since 11/24, out tonight
NEW Clarkson 16 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Kolek 11 to 22 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 12/09 · 2 days' restOUT Herro missed 2 since 12/05, returns tonight: 34 min (110% of 31)
OUT Jakučionis missed 3 since 12/03, out tonight
BACK Jović back 11/29 after 5, 12 min since (70% of 17)
MIA availability going into 12/15 · 5 days' restOUT Jakučionis missed 4 since 12/03, out tonight
BACK Herro back 12/09 after 2, 34 min since (110% of 31)
MIA availability going into 12/18 · 2 days' restOUT Jakučionis missed 5 since 12/03, returns tonight: 8 min (43% of 18)
BACK Herro back 12/09 after 2, 34 min since (110% of 31)
MIA availability going into 12/19 · back-to-backOUT Herro missed 2 since 12/15, out tonight
OUT Larsson missed 2 since 12/15, out tonight
BACK Jakučionis back 12/18 after 5, 8 min since (43% of 18)
MIA availability going into 12/21 · 1 day's restOUT Herro missed 3 since 12/15, out tonight
OUT Larsson missed 3 since 12/15, out tonight
OUT Jović missed 2 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Jakučionis back 12/18 after 5, 22 min since (121% of 18)
NEW Fontecchio 17 to 22 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Herro missed 4 since 12/15, out tonight
OUT Larsson missed 4 since 12/15, out tonight
OUT Jović missed 3 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Jakučionis back 12/18 after 5, 19 min since (104% of 18)
MIA availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restOUT Herro missed 5 since 12/15, out tonight
OUT Larsson missed 5 since 12/15, returns tonight: 30 min (112% of 26)
OUT Jović missed 4 since 12/18, returns tonight: 21 min (123% of 17)
BACK Jakučionis back 12/18 after 5, 21 min since (117% of 18)
MIA availability going into 12/27 · back-to-backOUT Herro missed 6 since 12/15, out tonight
BACK Larsson back 12/26 after 5, 30 min since (112% of 26)
BACK Jakučionis back 12/18 after 5, 20 min since (111% of 18)
BACK Jović back 12/26 after 4, 21 min since (123% of 17)
NEW Ware 22 to 29 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Adebayo missed 2 since 12/26, returns tonight: 21 min (65% of 32)
OUT Herro missed 7 since 12/15, out tonight
BACK Larsson back 12/26 after 5, 29 min since (108% of 26)
BACK Jović back 12/26 after 4, 23 min since (133% of 17)
NEW Ware 22 to 29 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Towns at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without McBride (3 straight), Shamet (11 straight). One day's rest. Miami comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 115, shooting 44 percent and 31 from three, 23 free throws a game; Powell at 20 and Jaquez Jr. at 16 a game. Without Herro (3 straight), Larsson (3 straight), Jović (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Miami minus-2 and the arc, New York at 39 percent from three to Miami's 31. Call it New York 119, Miami 110.
12/09 @ TOR 117-101 — NYK notes
NYK won 117-101. NYK shot 52% (42 of 80) to TOR's 43%, 16 of 35 from three, and went to the line 28 times to TOR's 18 — 17 points from the stripe to their 12. The glass went 48-37 for them. Brunson led with 35 (13 of 19, 6 of 9 from three); Hart added 21, Bridges 15. The hinge was Q2, 34-13: NYK came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 17, and the lead reached 24. Towns was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
12/18 @ IND 114-113 — NYK notes
NYK won 114-113. NYK shot 47% (43 of 92) to IND's 46%, 17 of 43 from three. Brunson led with 25 (10 of 23, 3 of 8 from three); Bridges added 22, Clarkson 18. The hinge was Q2, 34-26: the deficit went from 11 to 3. NYK trailed 59-62 at the half and won the second half 55-51.
12/19 vs PHI 107-116 — NYK notes
NYK lost 107-116. NYK shot 44% (39 of 88) to PHI's 45%, 8 of 32 from three. NYK turned it over 18 times to PHI's 10. The glass went 57-36 for them. Brunson led with 22 (7 of 22, 1 of 7 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Towns added 22, Bridges 21. Q2 was theirs, 30-28, but the other 3 periods went 88-77 against them. Hart's -12 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/21 vs MIA 132-125 — NYK notes
NYK won 132-125. NYK shot 55% (47 of 85) to MIA's 47%, 20 of 38 from three, and got to the line 21 times to MIA's 35. Brunson led with 47 (15 of 26, 6 of 13 from three, 11 of 11 at the line); Bridges added 24, Anunoby 18. The hinge was Q2, 36-25: NYK came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 4. Kolek was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
12/23 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 109, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 30 free throws a game; Randle at 21 and DiVincenzo at 18 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brunson at 32 and Bridges at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without McBride (4 straight), Shamet (12 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 39 percent from three to Minnesota's 32 and the line, where Minnesota takes 30 free throws a game to New York's 23. Call it Minnesota 115, New York 113, New York keeping it close.
12/25 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 114, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 32 and Towns at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without McBride (5 straight), Shamet (13 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 126, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Garland at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Mobley (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-6 a night and Cleveland minus-4 and the defense, New York allowing 114 a night to Cleveland's 126. Call it New York 121, Cleveland 117, Cleveland keeping it close.
12/27 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 133, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Johnson at 29 and Young at 24 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Porziņģis (8 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 119, shooting 47 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brunson at 32 and Bridges at 19 a game. Without McBride (6 straight), Shamet (14 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Atlanta minus-8 and the defense, New York allowing 119 a night to Atlanta's 133. Call it New York 122, Atlanta 118, Atlanta keeping it close.
12/29 @ NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 120, shooting 46 percent and 30 from three, 32 free throws a game; Williamson at 24 and Murphy III at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Jones (3 straight), Murray (3 straight), Jordan (29 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brunson at 34 and Towns at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without McBride (7 straight), Shamet (15 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and New Orleans minus-6 and the arc, New York at 40 percent from three to New Orleans's 30. Call it New York 119, New Orleans 118, New Orleans keeping it close.
12/09 @ ORL 108-117 — MIA notes
MIA lost 108-117. MIA shot 45% (42 of 93) to ORL's 51%, 8 of 33 from three. MIA turned it over 8 times to ORL's 16. Powell led with 21 (8 of 19, 4 of 12 from three); Herro added 20, Adebayo 19. Q1 was theirs, 30-17, but the other 3 periods went 100-78 against them. They led by as many as 16. Jaquez Jr.'s -16 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/15 vs TOR 96-106 — MIA notes
MIA lost 96-106. MIA shot 42% (35 of 83) to TOR's 48%, 9 of 31 from three, and went to the line 23 times to TOR's 9 — 17 points from the stripe to their 6. Powell led with 20 (5 of 15, 2 of 7 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Adebayo added 20, Mitchell 12. Q2 was theirs, 30-23, turning a 1-point deficit into a 6-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 83-66 against them. They led by as many as 11. Smith's -10 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/18 @ BKN 106-95 — MIA notes
MIA won 106-95. MIA shot 46% (41 of 89) to BKN's 39%, 9 of 28 from three, and went to the line 19 times to BKN's 11 — 15 points from the stripe to their 8. Powell led with 24 (8 of 14, 3 of 5 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Ware added 22, Jaquez Jr. 19. The hinge was Q4, 29-22: a lead of 4 became 11. Powell was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
12/19 @ BOS 116-129 — MIA notes
MIA lost 116-129. MIA took 20 more shots (102 to 82), fed by 17 offensive rebounds, but shot 39% to BOS's 54%, 19 of 49 from three. Ware led with 24 (8 of 12, 6 of 7 from three); Powell added 18, Jakučionis 17. Q2 was theirs, 29-28, the deficit cut from 1 to 0, but the other 3 periods went 101-87 against them. Jaquez Jr.'s -25 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/21 @ NYK 125-132 — MIA notes
MIA lost 125-132. MIA shot 47% (41 of 87) to NYK's 55%, 17 of 35 from three, and went to the line 35 times to NYK's 21 — 26 points from the stripe to their 18. Ware led with 28 (11 of 15, 5 of 7 from three); Jaquez Jr. added 23, Powell 22. Q1 was theirs, 37-30, but the other 3 periods went 102-88 against them. They led by as many as 10. Mitchell's -7 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/23 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 116, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Powell at 21 and Ware at 17 a game. Without Herro (4 straight), Larsson (4 straight), Jović (3 straight). One day's rest. Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 99 a night and allowing 105, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 13 free throws a game; Ingram at 26 and Barnes at 14 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Barrett (13 straight). One day's rest.
So: Miami wins, and the game turns on the line, where Miami takes 24 free throws a game to Toronto's 13 and the defense, Toronto allowing 105 a night to Miami's 116. Call it Miami 113, Toronto 111, Toronto keeping it close.
12/26 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 131, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Johnson at 26 and Young at 22 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Porziņģis (7 straight). 2 days' rest. Miami comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 115, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Powell at 20 and Jaquez Jr. at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Herro (5 straight), Larsson (5 straight), Jović (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the defense, Miami allowing 115 a night to Atlanta's 131 and the glass, where Miami has been plus-0 a night and Atlanta minus-5. Call it Atlanta 120, Miami 118, Miami keeping it close.
12/27 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 116, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Powell at 21 and Ware at 19 a game. Without Herro (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Indiana comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 119, shooting 44 percent and 30 from three, 24 free throws a game; Siakam at 20 and Nembhard at 18 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Nesmith (19 straight), Sheppard (9 straight), Toppin (28 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Miami wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Miami has been plus-2 a night and Indiana minus-6 and the arc, Miami at 36 percent from three to Indiana's 30. Call it Miami 119, Indiana 111.
12/29 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 120, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; Powell at 21 and Jaquez Jr. at 20 a game. Without Adebayo (2 straight), Herro (7 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 125, shooting 49 percent and 43 from three, 24 free throws a game; Jokić at 32 and Murray at 27 a game. Without Braun (20 straight), Johnson (2 straight), Gordon (16 straight). One day's rest.
So: Miami wins, and the game turns on the arc, Denver at 43 percent from three to Miami's 37. Call it Miami 122, Denver 121, Denver keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKJB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
MB M. Bridges
MD M. Diawara
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
TK T. Kolek
MIAAW A. Wiggins
BA B. Adebayo
DM D. Mitchell
DS D. Smith
JJ J. Jaquez Jr.
KJ K. Jakučionis
KW K. Ware
NP N. Powell
SF S. Fontecchio
NYK/MIA the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Brunson scores season-high 47 points, Knicks overcome Towns’ quiet night to beat the Heat
NEW YORK -- — Jalen Brunson scored a season-high 47 points and the New York Knicks overcame Karl-Anthony Towns’ quiet night to beat the Miami Heat 132-125 on Sunday.
While Towns had just two points and six rebounds in 29 minutes, Mikal Bridges scored 24 points on 6-of7 3-point shooting, Josh Hart added 13 points and 10 rebounds and OG Anunoby scored all 18 of his points all in the second half. The Knicks improved to 20-8 overall and 14-2 at home.
Kel’el Ware had 28 points and 19 rebounds for Miami. The Heat have lost seven of eight to fall to 15-14.
With Towns held scoreless over the first 25:02, and posting his fewest points since joining the Knicks, Brunson, Bridges and Anunoby picked up the slack, especially in the second half.
Ware made his fifth 3-pointer, then Jaime Jaquez Jr . hit a pair of free throws that cut New York’s lead to 120-118 with 3:12 left. But the Knicks answered with an 8-0 run, keyed by Bridges’ 3-pointer and three free throws from Brunson after a flagrant foul.
Brunson and Bridges combined for 45 of New York’s 66 first-half points, with Bridges scoring 18 points. The duo made 9 of 13 first-half 3-pointers, including Brunson’s 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left in the second quarter that put New York up by four at halftime.