Imitation is the finest form of flattery, but it has provided only visible outrage for the New York Knicks.

The Knicks may have found an early turning point in the new season, overcoming a 13-point deficit on the road. 116-107 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night at Kaseya Center. The highlight was Karl-Anthony Towns’ 44-point and 13-rebound performance, but Miami itself may be responsible for the Knicks’ comeback.

South Beach took a 70-57 lead with Nikola Jovic’s three-pointer with 8:20 left in the third quarter and gained its biggest lead of the night. Throwing the trio into the corner in front of the visitors’ bench, Jovic jubilantly put his hand to his face in a gesture that Knicks fans find familiar.

Some Heat fans interpreted this as a de facto tribute to the former late-season star. caleb martin (current Philadelphia 76ers often press his hand to his face after three-pointers), Jovic used three fingers, which appears to be a reference to Jalen Brunson’s famous demonstration of pressing the thenar space (the area between the thumb and index finger) into his mouth.

Jovic’s three helped Heat fans temporarily fight off the invasion of Knicks fans in the Kaseya Center stands, but it turned out to be only a temporary boost: From then on, the Knicks finished the third quarter with a 30-10 run in the final eight minutes. This period is part of the overall score of 59-37 at the end of the match. New York (2-2) thus achieved its first road win of the season and started a four-game road trip on a high note.

Wednesday’s game also marked a personal comeback for Brunson: The point guard and Knicks captain took the blame for having trouble taking things easy after Monday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. i.e. for low volume from incoming star TownsHe shot just 27 from the field in his first three games as a New Yorker.

Towns’ 17-of-25 scoring on Wednesday coincided with Brunson’s season-best nine assists. Towns’ dozen points came off Brunson’s sidekicks, the third-best points in the entire NBA so far this year.

Brunson also thawed out after a cold start on the court: After missing all but one of his first eight attempts, Brunson scored 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting in a productive second half for just 22 points. Towns. That included a 3-of-4 shot that won the extra point on a 3-pointer that gave the Knicks a permanent lead with 3:34 left in the third quarter.

Brunson will get a chance to build momentum on Friday when the Knicks continue their road trip in Detroit (7 p.m. ET, MSG).

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