Knicks-Heat series: Mitchell Robinsons free throws, Quentin Grimes energy and more -

Mitchell Robinson had only one thought when the Miami Heat instituted an exploitative strategy Wednesday evening.

“I’m knocking these down,” Robinson said.

Midway into the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game, the Heat intentionally fouled Robinson, who had missed 18 of 25 playoff free throws at that point, sending the New York Knicks center to the charity stripe in the hopes that the offense would stall. But it didn’t work, just as Robinson had silently predicted.

He made 3 of 4 freebies in front of an uproarious crowd before head coach Tom Thibodeau yanked him from the game for backup Isaiah Hartenstein. But positive thinking wasn’t the only reason Robinson followed through on his free-throw forecast.

The 24-year-old made a tiny adjustment once he got to the line, too: He changed his pre-shot routine.

Robinson normally receives the basketball from the referee, pins it against his left hip with his palm as he takes a deep breath, dribbles one time and then rises for his free throw. On Wednesday, when the Knicks downed the Heat 112-103 to decrease Miami’s Eastern Conference semifinal series lead to 3-2, he dribbled three times instead of just one.

It was no coincidence. The extra couple of dribbles helped with his concentration, he said.

Sometimes, the most important in-series adjustments happen when no one is even paying attention.

Robinson’s composure could come in handy during Game 6 scheduled for Friday evening in Miami. The Heat hadn’t tried the Robinson tactics until that fourth-quarter moment. The strategy doesn’t make as much sense when New York is struggling to score the way it did for much of the series’ first four games.

But over the final three quarters of Game 5, the Knicks began to look like the top-five offense they proved to be during the regular season. It’s probably no coincidence that it took New York’s best offensive game for Miami coach Erik Spoelstra to send Robinson to the line repeatedly. And if the Knicks score well once again in Game 6, they have to be ready for Spoelstra to bewitch-a-Mitch one more time

Maul-a-Mitchell is hardly the only topic to discuss coming off the Knicks’ recent victory. Here are four more thoughts as the two squads ready for Game 6:

Quick decisions

The Knicks’ starters found a new potency at the beginning of Wednesday’s third quarter, and it was because they played with speed.

Let’s start with Quentin Grimes, who ran for 48 minutes of a playoff game and never appeared tired.

People will focus on the physical aspect of exhaustion. With only a couple of minutes remaining in the game, Grimes clanked knees with Miami’s crafty screener Bam Adebayo, got up with a limp, found his man, Jimmy Butler, and then somehow came away with a steal even though he was in so much discomfort that he couldn’t even dribble up the court after recovering the basketball. But there’s another part of getting tired, too: the mental side.

Grimes’ brain never drained. He continued to make quick decisions.

He was one of the Knicks most responsible for the team’s run to begin the second half. On two separate plays, Julius Randle kicked the ball to Grimes in the corner, a place he can always justify rising for a spot-up, but the guard instead swung it promptly to Jalen Brunson.

Players talk all the time about the toll fatigue takes on their minds. We didn’t see any of that with Grimes, who may have to play big minutes again in Game 6, considering Immanuel Quickley is listed as doubtful with a sprained left ankle, which could leave the Knicks with a seven-man rotation in a second consecutive elimination game.

The run

The Knicks uncovered a game-changer to begin the second quarter of Game 5.

Obi Toppin was on the way to the top of the key to set a screen for Brunson, but Brunson went early, which meant Toppin didn’t get to set the pick. But one thing was for sure: He was going to make up for it. Seconds later, Brunson swung the ball to Toppin, who went into a dribble-handoff with his point guard. The play ended with an open 3 for Grimes.

The sequence triggered an 18-2 New York run, which coincided with Randle’s exit at the end of the first quarter and Toppin’s entrance at the beginning of the second. The pace changed with Toppin on the court. Randle spent the first quarter pounding the ball into the ground against Adebayo and Butler, acting as if either were a mismatch. With Toppin, the offense flowed, and the results showed.

But there’s a subtlety to this. The run wasn’t just about Toppin’s activity. It was also about the man guarding Toppin on the aforementioned play: Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson.

During that second-quarter heater, the Knicks hammered Robinson, Miami’s weakest defender.

Toppin threw down a fast-break alley-oop on the Knicks’ next time down. On the possession after that, Robinson was guarding Grimes, who scurried to his point guard to set a screen, popped to the wing and then hot-potato’d a pass to RJ Barrett for a 3.

It was another quick decision from Grimes — and it all started because he just happened to be the guy Robinson was guarding.

The next time down, Robinson was stuck on Barrett, which meant the Knicks’ up-and-comer was the one to set the screen for Brunson. New York scored once again.

There were other factors to the 18-2 onslaught. The Knicks got stops. They got out running. Barrett nailed a transition 3 in the midst of it, too. Brunson polished an off-balance and-1. But going at Robinson opened up the half-court offense, especially because the Knicks used a pick-and-roll dynamo in Brunson with their bench unit.

There may be something to take away from this. Even if Brunson doesn’t play all 48 minutes of Game 6, as he did in Game 5, the Knicks could stagger him so he runs the bench unit, an aspect that’s even more important if Quickley doesn’t play. The moments when Butler isn’t in the game and Robinson is are as good a time as any to slice up the Heat with screens.

Barrett’s streak

There was nothing remarkable about Barrett’s Game 5, which is exactly what made it so remarkable. Barrett revving up for an efficient, high-scoring night is becoming just another day at the office.

He scored 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting Wednesday. He hit big shots while running with the bench unit. He fought to the rim and showed off touch in the paint. And none of it was out of the norm since the Knicks’ first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

For years, the knock on Barrett has been his efficiency. Just when the Knicks need him most, he’s turning a corner.

Over his past eight playoff games, he’s averaging 22.5 points on 50 percent accuracy from the field and 38 percent accuracy from deep. His true shooting over this stretch: a hair above 60 percent. That’s top-notch scoring from a No. 2 option, which is what Barrett has become during this run.

Defensive matchup to watch

Especially considering Brunson’s inevitably high minute total, one aspect of Game 6 to watch is which Heat player he guards. The Knicks consistently placed him on shooters, Robinson and Max Strus, during Game 5. On various occasions, Brunson lost his man, which led to open jumpers.

The Heat didn’t shoot well from 3-point range in Game 5, but a number of their 3s were open, whether it was because Brunson couldn’t stick with his guy, because Randle closed out with a hand down against Kevin Love or because of something else.

It’s taxing chasing Robinson around screens, even for short spurts. If Brunson plays 40-something minutes once again and he continues to lose shooters, placing him on someone like Gabe Vincent, who has been excellent in this series, could give the Knicks defense a different look.

(Photo of Quentin Grimes and Jimmy Butler: Wendell Cruz / USA Today Sports

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