Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 140-132 loss to the New York Knicks:

– This is not because of the Karl-Anthony Towns first-half takeover.

– Because he has done that to the Heat over the years even when the Heat have been whole.

– Even when Bam Adebayo has been available.

– But lack of size eventually catches up.

– So if Adebayo isn’t available, as he wasn’t again on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, it leaves Kel’el Ware alone in the center rotation.

– Because Nikola Jovic is not a power player.

– Just not.

– No matter how much the Heat’s rotation states otherwise.

– Look, it’s not as if Precious Achiuwa would have changed much in this one.

– Cast off by both the Heat and Knicks in recent months.

– And Vlad Goldin simply doesn’t have the mobility to move up from his role as a two-way player.

– But it’s not like Adebayo won’t miss time again.

– Over even more time now.

– And there likely will be times without Ware.

– Andrew Wiggins against Towns simply isn’t a fair fight.

– Nor does it set up Wiggins to do what he does best.

– Yes, the Terry Rozier salary hold is clogging the cap.

– And, yes, there isn’t room under the tax to add another player for a month.

– But when there is, Pat Riley, Andy Elisburg and Adam Simon should be thinking big.

– It won’t be in time for the rematch against Towns and the Knicks on Monday night at Kaseya Center.

– But there will be other big challenges.

– And Ware shouldn’t have to stand alone.

– Nor should Adebayo.

– As it was, with Jovic in foul trouble, Erik Spoelstra had to turn to Keshad Johnson in the second half.

– And, no, Johnson is not an answer at the moment at this level.

– And, as it was, it wasn’t just Towns as the big thing for the Knicks, but also the relentless offensive rebounding of Knicks center Mitchell Robinson.

– Even in foul trouble, Robinson tormented the Heat on that side of the glass.

– And with those second chances, three after three after three.

– With Adebayo missing a fifth consecutive game with his toe sprain, the Heat for the fifth consecutive game opened with Ware, Wiggins, Pelle Larsson, Davion Mitchell and Norman Powell.

– Larsson’s 10 starts now are two more than he had as a rookie last season.

– Inactive again for the Heat were Adebayo, Tyler Herro (ankle), Rozier (not with team), Jahmir Young (G League) and Myron Gardner (G League).

– With Jalen Brunson out for the Knicks with his ankle sprain, the Knicks replaced him, as expected, in their lineup with Miles McBride, who was flanked by Towns, Robinson, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.

– Jaime Jaquez Jr. again was first off the Heat bench.

– With Jovic following.

– And then, together, Dru Smith and Simone Fontecchio.

– Spoelstra made clear at the morning shootaround there still was considerable respect for the Knicks even in the injury absence of Brunson.

– “They’re a very talented team, even without Brunson. They have depth. They have guys that can get it going,” he said.

– He added, “We don’t like giving up 130 like we did the other night. That’s not a recipe for success for us. But you have to collectively do tough things to get a team down.”

– Similarly, Mitchell at the morning shootaround said, “Him being out actually kind of makes them a little bit more dangerous too, just because they move the ball more — they’re not really stagnant.”

– Spoelstra also took time before the game to reflect on Wednesday night’s home loss to the undermanned Cavaliers.

– “We want to just bounce back and make sure we’re getting to our game more consistently,” he said. “It wasn’t that we overlooked Cleveland. We just didn’t finish the game with enough energy and enough attention to detail for 48 minutes.”

– Powell was told at the morning shootaround he was 19-3 over the course of his career against the Knicks.

– “It’s always a fun place to play in, the atmosphere’s always lively, whether they’re booing you or booing them, depending on what it is, because this fan base is always intense,” he said.

– The game opened the second of six times the Heat face the same opponent in consecutive games this season, with a rematch Monday night at Kaseya Center. The Heat split such a pairing against the Cavaliers this week at Kaseya Center, winning Monday and losing Wednesday.