MIAMI — Mitchell Robinson didn’t have many memorable moments in the Eastern Conference semifinals, aside from the key free throws that electrified the Garden and helped the Knicks win Game 5 over the Heat.
On Friday night, Robinson and backup center Isaiah Hartenstein had another quiet game against All-Star center Bam Adebayo, who had 23 points and nine rebounds in the Heat’s series-clinching 96-92 Game 6 win.
Robinson, who sank four of six free throws with Miami intentionally fouling him in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night in New York, finished with two points — also on two late free throws — and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes in the Knicks’ season-ending loss.
Before hitting six of his final eight attempts, Robinson previously had been shooting a horrendous 28 percent (7-for-28) from the stripe in the postseason.
Asked before Game 6 if he expected the Heat to continue fouling Robinson, coach Tom Thibodeau replied: “I think it’s situational. Like with most teams, your decision is usually made between the five- and two-minute mark [of the fourth quarter], depending on where you are in the game.”
The Heat shot 45.0 percent from 3-point range in their five-game elimination of the top-seeded Bucks in a massive first-round upset, a significant improvement from their 27th place ranking (34.4 percent) out of 30 NBA teams during the regular season.
They vanquished the Knicks despite shooting 30.6 percent in the six games, including 7-for-27 from long distance in Game 6.
“We’re gonna keep taking and shooting those shots, confident everybody in this locker room will make them,” Max Strus said before Game 6. “If they keep giving looks like that they’re playing with fire. So we’ve got guys that can shoot in our team and we all believe in each other and we’re gonna make them tonight.”
Knicks sixth man Immanuel Quickley missed a third straight game with a sprained left ankle suffered in Game 3.
Quentin Grimes, who scored just three points, said his knee was “fine” after he had banged it fighting through an Adebayo screen late in his 48-minute performance in Game 5.
— Additional reporting by Brian Lewis
The Knicks had no answer for Bam Adebayo throughout the series, and they couldn’t slow him down Friday night. The Heat’s two-time All-Star center badly outplayed Mitchell Robinson again as Miami outscored the Knicks in the paint, 38-20.
Take your pick.
Julius Randle shot 3-for-14. RJ Barrett was 1-for-10.
Jalen Brunson didn’t get nearly enough help from that duo, which was a combined 1-for-10 from 3-point range and committed six of the Knicks’ 12 turnovers.
Randle and Barrett combined for 26 inefficient points, and just 13 after the first quarter.
Even in defeat, Brunson was brilliant.
He became the first Knick since Patrick Ewing in 1990 to produce three consecutive 30-point playoff games.
He had 41 points on 14-for-22 shooting in 45 minutes, two days after not sitting for a second in a memorable 38-point showing.
26.5 The shooting percentage for the Knicks — other than Brunson — as they finished a brutal 13-for-49.
— Zach Braziller