Karl-Anthony Towns scores 44 points as the Knicks hold off the Heat

MIAMI – KAT has started Mischief Night.

Against his nemesis Jimmy Butler, the center overcame the problems of his first three games by scoring 44 points in a 116-107 comeback win against the Heat on Wednesday.

Towns shot 17 of 25 with 13 rebounds and hit two daggers in the final two minutes – a three-pointer followed by an and-1 against Butler. Towns celebrated that second shot with a flex.

Butler, who tormented Towns during and immediately after their time together as teammates in Minnesota, managed just 15 points in 37 minutes.

It was the start of a four-game road trip for the Knicks (2-2) and arguably the toughest matchup with upcoming games in Detroit, Houston and Atlanta.

The Knicks struggled early Wednesday — particularly Jalen Brunson — and trailed by double digits early in the third quarter.

The turning point, coincidental or not, was Miami's Nikola Jovic making a 3-pointer and seemingly mocking Brunson's three-finger, hand-to-the-face celebration.

The Knicks immediately went on a 30-10 run, turning a 13-point deficit after Jovic's three-pointer into a seven-point lead early in the final period.

Towns, meanwhile, dropped 24 points in the first half, which was by far his best performance as a Knick.

Brunson struggled in the first half – when he contributed just four points on 1-for-7 shooting – before coming back to life in the second half and finishing with 22 points and nine assists.

The result was encouraging, but the Knicks are figuring things out and hoping to rediscover the rhythm and chemistry of last season's finish.

Much of her awkwardness is understandable. Brunson is the only player on the roster who started more than 42 games for the Knicks last season.

Tom Thibodeau has thrown various substitution patterns at the wall in the hope that something will stick.

He rejoined Jericho Sims as backup center two days after subbing him in for Ariel Hukporti in the second half of a loss to the Cavaliers.

Thibodeau also dropped overwhelmed rookie Pacome Dadiet from the rotation after the first game.

Before hitting 40 treys in Miami, the Knicks ranked last in 3-point attempts per game (28.3) despite adding shooters to the roster.

“We are still in development, it will take some time,” Thibodeau said. “But we achieve a good rate. I want us to take good shots. I think we're third in offensive rating [they were fourth before Wednesday]. We achieve a very high field goal rate. We score a high percentage of 3. But the volume needs to be increased, so we share that responsibility.”

No matter where the Knicks stand come Halloween, there is an expectation that they will at least reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000.

Their all-in moves – which sacrificed continuity – looked good on Wednesday night.

Especially cities.

“I thought they were going to be the Nova Knicks until they got rid of Donte [DiVincenzo]said Heat center Bam Adebayo. “I mean, they’re still the Nova Knicks, they still have three of them on the team. They know, like I said, they're trying to get to the promised land. When you see moves like this, you understand that they no longer want to be knocked out in the conference finals or the second round. They’re trying to get to the final.”