Knicks win duel of role players over Heat

When Amazon chose the New York Knicks-Miami Heat NBA Cup game for one of their first national broadcasts, they probably imagined it would be an All-Star duel between Tyler Herro and Jalen Brunson. Instead, it was Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson going at Norman Powell and Jaime Jaquez, Jr. in the second half of a high-scoring 140-132 Knicks win.

Shamet scored a career-high 36 points off the bench to counter Powell's 38 in a game that didn't feature a lot of defense but showed off the depth of both Eastern Conference contenders. In a game where Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points in the first half and only eight afterward, it was the Knicks' reserves who made the difference.

New York Knicks didn't use their bench much last season

Getting big production from reserves is a novel concept for the Knicks after the Tom Thibodeau era. The Knicks' former coach got great results, but he did it by playing his starters heavy minutes. Three Knicks starters finished in the top five in minutes per game in 2025-26.

Under Mike Brown, the Knicks consciously put together a deeper bench, re-signing Shamet, picking up Clarkson after his buyout, and moving former starter Josh Hart to the bench unit. Friday night, the Knicks got 75 points from their reserves, while Hart had a triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Knicks tend to rely on Brunson when they need buckets, especially late in games. With their All-Star sidelined with a sprained ankle and OG Anunoby leaving with an injury after five minutes, the Knicks had to rely on their backups. Shamet delivered with 30-second-half points. His old career-high for an entire game was 31.