MIAMI — It really is starting to feel like the late 1990s around these Knicks.
On Friday night, two days after coach Tom Thibodeau said this group is giving him fond flashbacks, the Knicks pulled out a dramatic last-second victory over the Heat that was reminiscent of the two teams’ battles more than two decades ago.
Julius Randle pulled an Allan Houston, drilling a left-corner 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to give the Knicks a wild 122-120 win over the Heat at Miami-Dade Arena, their eighth straight victory.
As the Knicks (38-27) celebrated the shot, Randle accidentally knocked Thibodeau to the floor.
Mitchell Robinson stole the inbound pass on the other end, and the large contingent of Knicks fans celebrated yet another victory.
Randle’s shot capped a brilliant 43-point performance — his fourth 40-point outing of the season.
He hit eight 3-pointers and got the better of Heat star Jimmy Butler, who was brilliant himself, with 33 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Jalen Brunson added 25 points and eight assists and Immanuel Quickley had 21 off the bench for the Knicks, who nearly blew a 17-point first half lead. Tyler Herro had 29 points for the Heat.
The Heat got within two, the closest they had been since the first quarter, on Victor Oladipo’s 3-pointer with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter.
The shot bounced off the rim and the backboard before dropping.
Miami went ahead on the next possession, on a Caleb Martin 3-pointer.
Brunson gave the Knicks back the lead with a runner in the lane, then set up a Robinson slam with dribble penetration to push the lead to three with 4:45 left.
The Heat got even on Butler’s offensive rebound and follow, leaving 1:04 on the clock and the scored tied at 116-116.
Randle’s three-point play put the Knicks back.
Herro then scored four consecutive points to give Miami a 120-119 lead with 23 seconds left, setting up Randle’s game-winner.
Late in the first half, Randle spearheaded an 11-0 run that turned a five-point deficit into a six-point lead.
He hit consecutive 3-pointers, part of a monster half in which he scored 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting.
As a team, the Knicks shot a ridiculous 63.4 percent from the field and piled up 17 points in transition. Only Butler’s 19 first-half points enabled the Heat to be within 15 at the half.
Brunson was quiet in comparison to his 39-point outburst Wednesday.
But he made an impact by creating for others, notching seven assists to go with 12 points and zero turnovers over the first 24 minutes.
Randle sent the Knicks into the break with smiles, blocking Butler’s 3-point attempt at the horn to close out a terrific defensive possession.
The pro-Knicks crowd was loving it, drowning out their Heat counterparts on several occasions.
The loudest instance of the opening half came late in the second quarter, after Josh Hart scored and was fouled driving the lane.
At that point, “Let’s go Knicks,” chants reverberated throughout the building. It marked the first time the Knicks had scored 70 points in the first half of consecutive games since Nov. 18-19, 1988.
The second half started very differently as Miami’s Bam Adebayo, held to four points in the first half, scored on three consecutive possessions and the Knicks missed their first four shots. In a flash, the lead was down to seven.
Herro badly hurt the Knicks in the quarter, scoring 13 points, and the Heat trailed by just eight points entering the final stanza.
Brunson turned his right ankle, and went back into the locker room to get it taped up, the team said. He did return early in the fourth quarter.