MIAMI — The Knicks left here with enough bricks to help all that construction on Brickell Avenue.

Mike Brown’s club missed 39 3-pointers in Sunday night’s 115-107 defeat to the Heat, with its misfiring both diverse in categories — some were wide open, others were poor decisions — and widespread.

Still, the misses didn’t deter the Knicks from attempts. They took 54 treys — 17 more than the Heat — and until a very late surge, their conversion rate was ugly.

“We just didn’t make them. Especially myself,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who missed his first 6 treys and finished 2-for-8. “That’s a rare thing for me, so it’s just the league. … So things happen. So keep shooting, staying confident. We’ll have days like this if we’re going to shoot the 3-ball as many times as we did today. You live and die by the 3. So today we died by it.”

Brown has often repeated that the Knicks defense is ahead of the offense. And Sunday’s performance reinforced that notion.

Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks drives to the basket during the game against the Miami Heat on October 26, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images

The defense wasn’t good. But the offense was anemic. It barely existed outside of Jalen Brunson, who tried to drag the Knicks to victory with 37 points.

The game was lost at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth, when Brunson went to the bench and the Heat launched an 11-0 run. The Knicks went 4 ¹/₂ minutes without scoring.

By the time Brunson returned with nine minutes left, the point guard was cold and the Knicks were toast. A last gasp cut the deficit to single digits in the final minutes, but it was too little, too late.

Andrew Wiggins hit the dagger 3 for Miami with 1:20 remaining. The Knicks’ field goal percentage dipped to under 40 percent for the season, and it was already the worst in the NBA heading into Sunday.

“We’re getting good looks. We’re getting a lot of good looks,” Brunson said. “The ball is in the paint, making plays in these first couple of games. I have faith in us that we’ll knock them down.”

Brown preferred to harp on their high amount of fouls and poor transition defense, with both Brunson and Josh Hart agreeing the Knicks were a step slow here. If that were the case, the players had an excuse.

Norman Powell #24 of the Miami Heat drives to the basket during the game against the New York Knicks on October 26, 2025 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. NBAE via Getty Images

They were operating on suboptimal sleep Sunday after arriving in Miami at roughly 2 a.m., league sources said, several hours after they were supposed to land from the airport in Westchester. The reason was a medical emergency involving a member of the flight crew, sources said, which occurred before the plane took off.

Considering the travel problem, it felt like a back-to-back. And the Knicks looked the part.

“It was a step slow, physically and mentally,” Hart said of the Knicks giving up 31 foul shots to Miami. “Obviously there was some where we kind of put our hands in and reached and that’s more of a mental thing, making sure you’re in those gaps and getting your hands out so I think some of that was more mental than physical, and when you add fatigue, sometimes you resort to your habits. So it’s a new group, a new coach and we haven’t formed those habits yet. But it’s Game 3 and we’re still learning and getting better.”

Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat celebrates during the game against the New York Knicks on October 26, 2025 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. NBAE via Getty Images

Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks dribbles the ball during the game against the Miami Heat on October 26, 2025 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. NBAE via Getty Images

So the first road game of the Brown era was also its first loss. The Knicks shot just 38.8 percent from the field and 27.8 percent on treys. The reserves went a combined (shield your eyes, children) 1-for-18 on 3s. Towns rode the struggle bus with just 15 points in 36 minutes.

Hart again lacked confidence in his shot, attempting just five from the field in 29 minutes while missing badly on his 3-pointers.

What’s happening on and off the Garden court

Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.

Thank you

Norm Powell led the Heat (2-1) with 29 points.

Brown declared in preseason that he’ll give up on games early in garbage time — wave the white flag by emptying the bench — and that never happened. The Knicks trailed by as many as 18 midway through the fourth quarter, but they hung around long enough for the coach to keep his starters on the floor.

The Knicks were badly missing Miles McBride, who was unavailable for personal reasons. A league source said he was dealing with a death in the family.

And without their spark plug, the Knicks had a hot Brunson and little else going offensively against the Heat.

“Of course you’re happy you’re getting good looks, but at the same time you’re frustrated as hell that you’re not making them,” Towns said. “We haven’t shot well at the start of this season. But I think at the end of the day, we’ve shown that our offense is a big firepower of ours and will come together.”