Heat forward Kevin Love played just 16 minutes in Miami’s 108-101 Game 1 victory over the New York Knicks, but he managed to impact the game significantly in that limited span.
Love finished with nine points, five rebounds and four assists, and he rattled New York on three separate occasions with long passes that traveled the length of the court, resulting in easy buckets for Miami.
Not only did Love’s passes serve as tone-setters, giving the Heat an extra spark at a hostile venue in Madison Square Garden, the veteran forward’s outlet bombs also provided some fodder for jokes.
Sitting courtside at the Garden to take in the Knicks game was recently-acquired New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. At one point, Love playfully jawed at the former Green Bay Packers star and after the game, the Heat forward revealed what he said.
Love to Aaron Rodgers: ‘I Have the Best QBR in New York Right Now’
KEVIN LOVE THROWS THE TOUCHDOWN PASS TO JIMMY BUTLER FOR THE DUNK🔥
Love is no stranger to the full court pass — it’s something he has done over the majority of his career — and he hit Heat star Jimmy Butler twice and forward Max Strus once with long bombs in Game 1 against the Knicks.
All three of Love’s big assists came within two minutes of each other in what turned out to be a big third quarter for the Heat.
The three Kevin Love outlet passes in a two-minute span in the third quarter. Such a crazy and unique skill, and it helped swing the momentum in the third quarter.
After the game, Love, who stressed he is friendly with the new Jets QB, revealed the playful trash talk he threw at Rodgers.
“It’s just as much the receiver as it is the passer, so I rely on my teammates. Max was a recipient as well, but Jimmy certainly made me look good on that one,” Love said about his long passes, via the New York Post, before sharing what he said to Rodgers during the game: “I just said I’ve got the best QBR in New York as of right now.”
Love’s Big Passing Gave Heat Spark in 3rd Quarter
Miami out-scored New York 31-20 in the third quarter, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra credited Love with giving the team the spark it needed to play spoiler on the road.
“It probably started with Kevin Love’s rebounding and outlet passes,” Spoelstra told the Miami Herald after the game. “We don’t [teach that],” the Heat coach added in reference to Love’s court-length passes. “That’s such an incredible skill. There’s not many guys in this association that can throw it 90 feet, let alone see the play happen, and then on time on target. That’s an incredible skill set that he has.”
For his part, Love, who averaged just under 10 points a game in the first round of the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks, knows every possession counts a little bit more in the postseason.
“There’s risk-reward. I mean, this series, maybe even more so than others, is going to be such a possession type series, possession games,” Love said, per Fox Sports. “Jimmy being Megatron out there, it’s nice to have him going up and jumping and accepting that ball.”
“We certainly want to get easy triggers, easy buckets, buckets in transition if we can,” Love added. “Tonight we felt like it worked for us.”
Love and the Heat will be back at the Garden for Game 2 on May 2, so we’ll see if those easy buckets continue to come.
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Heat’s Kevin Love Reveals Courtside Trash Talk He Threw at Aaron Rodgers