RJ Barrett Erupts for Career-high 46 in Knicks' Loss to Heat

New York Knicks wing RJ Barrett scored a career-high 46 points in a 115-100 home loss to the Miami Heat on Friday from Madison Square Garden.

Barrett, a third-year pro out of Duke, shot 13-of-22 from the field and 6-of-11 from three-point range. He also made 14-of-22 free throws, grabbed nine rebounds and joined an exclusive franchise list along the way:

Barrett's previous career-high was 36 points, which he set Feb. 5 in a 122-115 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He nearly hit that mark in the first half alone en route to 30 points:

Barrett didn't need too much longer to set his career-high, hitting the 37-point mark midway through the third quarter:

Barrett is now averaging 23.9 points per game since Jan. 4.

He's emerged as the team's most valuable player during a year where he's steadily improved and become the Knicks' top scorer.

Barrett had missed the Knicks' final four games before the All-Star break with a left ankle sprain, but he showed zero rust on Friday. He helped New York get going after this tough layup for a 10-0 lead:

He ended up scoring 13 in the first quarter:

It was more of the same in the second quarter, when Barrett made four three-pointers and scored 17 more points:

Despite Barrett's 30-piece in the first half, the Knicks trailed 65-55 entering the break.

Miami slightly cooled Barrett off in the second half, but he still scored 16 more points and did some damage in the mid-range:

He had 39 points through three quarters before adding seven more in the fourth. No Knick player had scored 46 or more points since Carmelo Anthony in 2014:

Despite Barrett's best efforts, the 25-35 Knicks could not keep up with the 39-21 Heat. New York committed 18 turnovers (nine in the fourth quarter), and Julius Randle shot just 2-of-15 while Evan Fournier hit only 5-of-16 shots.

Meanwhile, Tyler Herro scored 25 off the bench for the Heat, and center Bam Adebayo controlled the paint with 16 points and 16 rebounds.

A home-and-home series with the Philadelphia 76ers now awaits the Knicks, with the first game occurring Sunday at MSG.