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The Heat came out lethargic, late on rotations and sluggish in transition defense. Miami fell behind by as many as 18 in the first quarter and could never close the gap. Perhaps it was the remorse and soft heart, Heat players felt for those innocent families suffering from the hurricane. Relax, I'm kidding. Sort of. Dwyane Wade did tell the public that he was donating his game paycheck for hurricane Sandy relief efforts.
OR; maybe the Knicks were just on fire from behind the arc. The Knicks connected on a staggering 8-13 3-pointers in the first half. New York would finish the game 18-35 from 3-point range, including a dramatic bucket from veteran Rasheed Wallace with 30 seconds left in the 4th.
OR; maybe the Heat took this game off. Watching the game, you couldn't help but notice that the Heat appeared slow tonight. They just didn't have that sense of urgency and intensity that we're all so accustomed to seeing.
Despite trailing 55-45 at halftime, the Heat were extremely efficient, shooing 54%. Their shooting would decrease though and their turnovers would do the opposite. Miami uncharacteristically committed a careless 21 turnovers on the night.
Carmelo Anthony scored 16 of his game high 30 points in the first quarter. Anthony was hot to start but cooled off, shooting just 10-28 for the game. The Knicks were solid as a group though, finishing with 6 players in double digit scoring.
Despite posting decent numbers across the board, the Heat's big three were relatively quite. LeBron James lead the way for Miami with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Dwyane Wade finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and Chris Bosh double doubled with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Rashard Lewis was the one bright spot for the Heat, who finished with 16 points on 4-6 from beyond the arc. Yeah it was mostly garbage time I know.
Either way, Amare Stoudemire might be in trouble folks. Remember when the Knicks went on a tear towards the end of the regular season last year and Carmelo won player of the month? Well maybe Jeff Van Gundy's comments about the Knicks small ball during the game says it all:
"There is no question, that this small lineup with Carmelo at the 4, is their best lineup"- Jeff Van Gundy said
The Heat are now 1-1 on the season and will look to bounce back tomorrow, when they host the Denver Nuggets.