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Miami Heat smother New York Knicks for 2-1 playoff series lead

MIAMI, May 6 (UPI) -- Jimmy Butler returned from a short injury hiatus and Miami Heat defenders constantly agitated New York Knicks shooters in a dominant Game 3 victory in the Eastern Conference semifinal series Saturday in Miami.

Butler, who was held out of Game 2 because of an ankle injury, scored a game-high 28 points in the 105-86 win at the Kaseya Center.

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"We always said we can win games when we defend and not make shots," Butler said at his postgame news conference.

"This was one of those games. ... It feels good to get a win on our home floor in front of our home crowd. We are going to take that and roll with it."

The No. 8 Heat now hold a 2-1 lead on the No. 5 Knicks in the best-of-seven-game series. Game 4 will be Monday in Miami.

The Knicks, who missed their first nine 3-point attempts, made just 8 of 40 shots from downtown. They shot 34.1% overall and never led.

The Heat outscored the Knicks 50-36 in the paint and 32-25 off the bench.

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Heat defenders were pesky off the tip off, forcing turnovers and hustling to loose balls, while holding the Knicks to a 32% shooting clip through the first 12 minutes.

The Heat used a 14-4 run to break away in the quarter and carried a 29-21 edge into the second.

"The first quarter set the tone for the game in terms of the activity level," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

The Heat started the second quarter on a 15-4 run, inflating the advantage to 19. The Knicks answered with a 9-2 run, but still trained 58-45 at halftime. The Heat bench scored 19 in the second quarter

The Heat used a 12-2 run to push the lead to 21 in the third. They outscored the Knicks 29-26 in the quarter and led 87-70 to start the fourth.

The Heat increased the Knicks deficit to 22 with 7:49 remaining. They outscored the Knicks 18-16 in the fourth quarter to close out the lopsided victory.

Heat guard Max Strus scored 19 points in the win. Center Bam Adebayo chipped in 17 points and 12 rebounds.

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"We made them take tough shots, play in a crowd and got to their shooters, running them off the line," Adebayo said. "I feel like that's what won the game."

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson scored 20 points in the loss. Forward Julius Randle totaled 10 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks. Guard Josh Hart logged 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Game 4 will tip off at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Kaseya Center. Game of 5 will be Wednesday in New York. The winner of the series will face the No. 2 Boston Celtics or No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics lead that series 2-1.

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