During their second-round playoff series against the Knicks, the Heat will be without Tyler Herro, their top 3-point shooter from a roster that finished ranked 27th out of 30 teams in the NBA in that category during the regular season at 34.4 percent.
Over a much smaller sample size, Jimmy Butler and the Heat absolutely shot lights out from long distance in their first-round elimination of the Bucks.
Herro played just 19 postseason minutes before he broke his right hand during Game 1.
Miami connected on an outrageous 45.0 percent of its 3-point tries in the five-game victory, led by Duncan Robinson.
The primary replacement in the rotation for Herro and injured wing Victor Oladipo (knee), Robinson shot 73.7 percent (14-for-19) from deep in the series against Milwaukee.
“I think when you look at the way they played during the regular season to where they are now, they have averaged 124 points a game against a really good defensive team,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said Friday. “So I think the 3-point part of it is really something that they’re doing well and we’re going to have to be at our best to challenge shots.”
Butler (44.4 percent), Caleb Martin (43.8), Kevin Love (43.3), Gabe Vincent (42.4) and Max Strus (41.2) all shot better than 40 percent from deep against the Bucks.
Kyle Lowry also came in at 35.7 percent, slightly above his regular-season figure (34.6).
Every one of them has improved his accuracy from beyond the arc in the playoffs.
The Knicks held Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers to 32.7 percent from 3-point range in five first-round games.
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Asked for his most lasting memory from the Heat-Knicks playoff rivalry from the late 1990s, when he was an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy, Thibodeau replied: “I’d say that probably the biggest thing was Allan Houston. I probably wouldn’t be here today if that thing didn’t roll in. It hit every part of everything.”
Houston got a favorable roll on a series-clinching shot to complete a five-game elimination of the top-ranked Heat by the No. 8 Knicks in the first round in 1999.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks vs. Heat NBA playoff series
- Vaccaro: Knicks’ failure to help Brunson is why their season’s over
- Knicks battle but fall in season-ending Game 6 loss to Heat
- Knicks couldn’t survive two minutes without Brunson
- Brunson’s heroic night spoiled by late turnover
Thibodeau said jokingly that between head-coaching jobs with the Timberwolves and the Knicks, he has spent a lot of time in Miami, albeit not around the Heat.
“No, I just went down there to hang out, actually. [Went] to a couple of clubs,” said Thibodeau, who often refers to the Knicks’ practice facility as Club Tarrytown.
