Winderman’s view: Heat 109, Knicks 103

Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday’s 109-103 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden:

— Nothing easy this season.

— Nothing.

— Not even against an opponent playing the second game of a back to back.

— But Bam Adebayo emerging as a closer adds another element to the Heat mix.

— As does Jimmy Butler stepping forward when needed.

— Even if his first basket of the second half did not come until late in the third period.

— The box score closed balanced.

— Which very much is who the Heat are.

— Butler doing what is needed.

— Not necessarily what others want.

— And credit Kelly Olynyk for coming up with a key late 3-point play when needed.

— Not 3-pointer, but 3-point play.

— Mostly, defense stepping up when needed.

— The wheel of lineups has proven unrelenting for the Heat, who this time went in without Goran Dragic.

— So the Heat opened with their 16th starting lineup in their 23 games.

— The most five fives in the league to this stage.

— This time with Kendrick Nunn getting his third start of the season.

— Clearly showing Erik Spoelstra’s commitment to keep Tyler Herro as a spark off the bench.

— The first five was rounded out by Adebayo, Butler, Olynyk and Duncan Robinson.

— The Heat entered 1-4 in Dragic’s absence this season.

— Olynyk was called for his second foul with 6:24 left in the opening period but remained in.

— The move paid off with Olynyk then scoring five quick points.

— The Heat’s substitution came when Herro entered for Robinson.

— Precious Achiuwa entered next, for Adebayo.

— Gabe Vincent and Andre Iguodala then entered together late in the opening period.

— Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said pregame that Butler being in the Heat’s mix makes the Heat a far better team than their record.

— “I think when you look at their numbers when Jimmy plays versus when he doesn’t play, it’s two different teams,” he said. “So I think now that they’ve gotten healthier they’re playing at a pretty high level.”

— The Knicks entered leading the league in defensive field-goal percentage, at .435, and in defensive 3-point percentage, .316, and second in opponent scoring, 103.9.

— Of the Knicks’ defense, Spoelstra said, “You can expect a team coached by Tom to be well-drilled, well-disciplined, well-schooled. And they’re already showing significant improvement on that side of the floor.”

— Spoelstra added, “The one-trigger, one-option actions that you might get against a normal opponent, you’re not going to get against them. So you’re going to have to trust your offense to get it to the second side, be able to attack in different ways. I think that’s a direct correlation to his coaching leadership and their commitment to that side of the floor.”

— The game was the second of a home back-to-back for New York, with the Knicks having defeated Portland in a Saturday matinee.

— “Ideally, you’d like to have a normal shootaround, but more often than not, you don’t,” Thibodeau said. “And this season, in particular, with COVID and all the protocols and different things, you have to be prepared to adapt.”

— The Heat held a team meeting Saturday night to prepare, with NBA protocols prohibiting any sampling of the New York nightlife.

— The Heat entered 5-2 on Super Bowl Sundays, having played on Super Sunday in 2016, ’15, ’13, ’12, ’11, ’02 and ’97. The Heat had played in New York on Super Bowl Sunday twice previously, with a 94-83 victory on Feb. 3, 2002 and a 95-89 loss on Jan 26, 1997.

— The appearance was the 1,150th regular-season game for Iguodala.

— Adebayo’s sixth basket passed Jamal Mashburn for 22nd on the Heat’s all-time list.

— Nunn’s second defensive rebound was the 200th of his career.

— Olynyk now has made multiple 3-pointers in a career-high seven consecutive games.

— Robinson’s first steal was the 50th of his career.