New York @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 30, 2019 ) Miami 100, New York 92

The Miami Heat capped a winning road trip with an impressive victory at Philadelphia on Wednesday. They'll try to carry some momentum from that triumph into a four-game homestand that starts Friday night against the improving New York Knicks.

After splitting the first two contests on a three-game trip, Miami rode a 26-point effort from rookie Kendrick Nunn to the 109-104 victory over the 76ers, who had won their first 14 games at home. "It gives us confidence on top of the confidence we already have," Nunn told the media after hitting 4-of-8 3-pointers and handing out five assists. The Knicks fell to 4-20 after losing their first two games following the firing of head coach David Fizdale but they've won three of four since and the one loss was a six-point setback on the road against a quality Denver squad. "We're trending in the right direction," forward Marcus Morris told reporters after a 143-120 rout of the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. "I'm not going to go out and say we're going to make the playoffs, but ... that's what we're fighting towards. That's the goal."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FS Sun (Miami)

ABOUT THE KNICKS (7-21): New York had its highest-scoring output in a regulation game in over 39 years in Tuesday's victory, as rookie RJ Barrett scored 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting to lead the way. Mitchell Robinson chipped in 22 points and 13 rebounds off the bench as the Knicks shot 55.8 percent while continuing to look like a different team under interim coach Mike Miller. "We were pretty much tired of the way the season was going," Robinson told reporters. "We just decided we needed to make some changes. We did that energy-wise and we came out and we compete our (butts) off."

ABOUT THE HEAT (20-8): Center Bam Adebayo had 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals Wednesday night in another star-worthy performance that is drawing some of the attention from team leader Jimmy Butler. "This is a team of one star?" Butler said when asked about his status as the team's go-to talent. "Who's our star, Bam? I'll take it. I'll take Bam as our star any day. I ain't worried about what anybody says. We're content with who we are." Butler saw his streak of 20-point games end at nine with 14 points at Philadelphia.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Heat SF Justise Winslow (back) has missed seven straight games and PG Goran Dragic (groin) has sat out nine in a row.

2. Knicks PG Elfrid Payton has 20 assists and zero turnovers in his last two games.

3. Miami took all three meetings last season while allowing an average of 92 points.

PREDICTION: Heat 112, Knicks 105