The Knicks lost once again, but in his first game back from an ankle injury RJ Barrett continued his rise to become New York's star.
After missing four games with an ankle sprain, Barrett poured in a career-high 46 points in Friday's loss to the Heat, shooting 59 percent from the field while connecting on six of his 11 3-point attempts. In a welcomed sight for New York, Barrett was also fearless attacking the paint against Bam Adebayo and the Heat, getting to the free throw line 22 times.
But Barrett couldn't help himself from thinking about the free throw chances he didn't convert, as he missed eight of those 22 attempts, as well as some late giveaways that sealed the team's fate.
"I had terrible turnovers," Barrett said. "I don't know what I was doing, but I'm gonna watch the film and figure out in those spots what is effective…I had some silly mistakes that I wish I could take back, and some free throws I wish I could take back."
Still, Barrett was superb, continuing what has arguably been the best stretch of his young career. Over his last 16 games, Barrett is shooting 44 percent from the field and 40 percent from downtown, averaging 24.4 points per game in that span. He also displayed some lockdown defense against a dangerous Miami squad, holding opponents he guarded directly to just 1-of-17 shooting on the night, including shutting down Tyler Herro and holding him scoreless on eight shot attempts.
"I don't think anybody is surprised or should be surprised," Heat star Jimmy Butler said. "He's gonna definitely be playing in this league for a long time and he's going to be the face of the Knicks."
Adebayo added, "He wants to be that guy. You can see, he wants to take his team to another level."
That's not enough for Barrett, who wants to see his team win some games. But in a season that is quickly looking like a lost one, it is a sense of comfort for the Knicks to see that they might have some star potential in Barrett, who is still just 21 years old.
"It's bittersweet," Barrett said. "When you have a night like that, of course you want to get the win, which is the most important thing. For us, we fought. We really battled."
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