Karl-Anthony Towns scored 31 of his 39 points in the first half, Landry Shamet had a career-high 36 points off the bench and fellow reserve Josh Hart posted a triple-double Friday night for the host New York Knicks, who beat the Miami Heat 140-132 in NBA Cup East Group C action.
Both teams are 1-1 in Group play.
Towns scored eight unanswered points to ignite the decisive 17-6 run that ended the first half for the Knicks, who finished 6-1 during a season-long seven-game homestand. New York won Friday despite missing Jalen Brunson, who was sidelined with a right ankle injury suffered in Wednesday’s 124-107 loss to the Orlando Magic.
Towns added 11 rebounds for his eighth straight double-double and his 11th in 12 games this season.
Shamet scored the most points by a reserve in the NBA this season and the most by a Knicks player off the bench since J.R. Smith had 37 points against the Charlotte Bobcats on Mar. 29, 2013.
Jordan Clarkson had 24 points off the bench for the Knicks, who outscored the Heat’s reserves 75-39. Hart (12 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) finished with his first regular-season triple-double since March 25.
Starter Mikail Bridges added 15 points.
Norman Powell scored 38 points for the Heat, who have lost two straight following a three-game winning streak. Kel’el Ware (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Davion Mitchell (11 points, 11 assists) recorded double-doubles, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 23 points off the bench.
Andrew Wiggins (15 points) and Pelle Larsson (14 points) also reached double figures.
The Heat took their biggest lead by opening the game on a 7-0 run. There were four ties and 11 lead changes, the last when Towns drained the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:53 left to begin the half-ending run.
The Heat pulled within two points five times in the third quarter, the last time at 104-102 on a layup by Dru Smith with 2:06 left. But the Knicks ended the game on a 36-30 run and led by at least eight points for the final 10:57.
