Brunson-less Knicks pull off cardiac win against Heat

The New York Knicks found themselves in another frantic finish. But this time, they pulled it off without their best clutch player.

Jalen Brunson sat out with a non-COVID illness. But somehow, the Knicks collectively found a way to survive with a 106-104 win over their rivals Miami Heat Thursday night at Madison Square Garden to pull within one game behind their victims for the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed.

The Knicks’ sloppy offensive execution off timeouts down the stretch nearly cost them the game again.

RJ Barrett’s bounce-back game from his late benching during Tuesday night’s overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers was nearly dimmed by consecutive bad passes off inbound plays inside…