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MIAMI, May 12 (UPI) -- Bam Adebayo muscled through the New York Knicks to inspire a punishing victory Friday in Miami, punching the Miami Heat's ticket to the NBA Eastern Conference finals. "When you want to win this bad, you're willing to do anything," Adebayo said in his postgame news conference after the 96-92 Game 6 triumph at the Kaseya Center.
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"You will put your body through a lot for a series win."
The Heat became just the second No. 8 seed in NBA history -- and first in more than two decades -- to reach the conference finals.
"There are a lot of teams that would love to be in this position," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We've had to fight and claw to earn everything we've gotten this postseason. We don't take this for granted."
The Heat will face the No. 2 Boston Celtics or No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals. That series is tied 3-3.
"We've got eight more [wins] to get" for the NBA championship, said Heat forward Jimmy Butler, who scored a team-high 24 points. "I'm so proud of all of my guys for playing as hard as we did today."
Adebayo logged 23 points and nine rebounds for the Heat. The team overcame a 41-point effort from Knicks guard Jalen Brunson to close out the best-of-seven-game series 4-2.
The Heat outscored the Knicks 38-20 in the paint and 25-20 off the bench. They also overcame a 14-point deficit in the series finale.
The Knicks went on an early 16-3 run for their largest lead of the night with 2:40 remaining in the first quarter. The Heat scored seven unanswered to end the quarter, but still trailed 31-24 to start the second.
Brunson led the way with 15 points over the first 12 minutes. He continued his effort in with a 3-pointer to start the second quarter, but the Heat answered with a 13-2 run and took back the lead for the first time in more than 14 minutes.
The lead changed hands seven times in the second quarter. The Heat led 51-50 at halftime.
Adebayo scored 11 points in the second quarter.
The game stayed tight in the third until the Heat scored seven unanswered for a 63-56 edge midway through the quarter. The Heat never lost the lead from that point on.
The Heat outscored the Knicks 23-21 in the third quarter and carried a 74-71 edge into the fourth.
The Knicks closed the gap to one point several times in the final two quarters, but could not complete their rallies.
The Knicks went on a late 14-7 run to cut the lead to two with under a minute left, but the Heat sank four free throws down the stretch to ice the triumph. The Heat outscored the Knicks 22-21 over the final 12 minutes.
Heat guards Max Strus and Kyle Lowry scored 14 and 11 points, respectively. Brunson made 14 of 22 shots, including five 3-pointers, for the Knicks.
The 1998-99 Knicks were the only other No. 8 seed to advance to the conference finals. They remain the only No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals will be Wednesday in Boston or Philadelphia. Game 7 of the Celtics-76ers series will tip off Sunday in Boston.
