With the force of “The Hurricane”, the Miami Heat once again blew away the Knicks. Miami rallied to go ahead by one at halftime and then took control with its defense, holding NY to 29 points after halftime. This time, they came out strong for the first half, the bench produced, and still it wasn’t enough to compensate for the third-quarter swoon and an eventual 97-78 loss at Madison Square Garden Friday night.
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By sitting out Monday, Deng will wind up having nine days off despite missing only three games. Monta Ellis had 14 points, and George Hill finished with 10 assists (see full recap). Miami this season has turned back the hands of time for a bit and they’ve started to play basketball with more confidence especially on the defensive end of the basketball.
Green outplayed New York All-Star Carmelo Anthony, who missed his final eight shots over the last three quarters as the Knicks lost their third straight. And then, with another start in place of Deng Friday in NY, there were a season-high 25 points. If his shot catches up to the rest of the game, he’ll be a “What if?” in Boston for years to come, even if we never know what picks Ainge was willing to give up. However, because of the way that Pat Riley has constructed this roster by surrounding his veteran players with young and energetic talent, it only helps motivate his older roster. The most important number, however, was the foul total.
It was Millsap’s fourth double-double in his last five games. At one point, Wade could stand on equal footing with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and still look like the best player on the court.
– The bench finally got back on track tonight. He also broke out of his passing slump, notching six assists without a turnover.
Chicago led 7-2 in the opening three minutes before the Pacers countered with a 17-2 run that included seven from Miles. This felt like the first time in a while that the worst plus-minus lines belonged to starters (-23 for Melo, -16 for Arron Afflalo, -12 for Jose Calderon). “I couldn’t find it in the second half for whatever reason”. Let’s keep our sense of humor, people!
Those baskets kicked off a 14-2 run that spanned more than 51/2 minutes during which the Knicks went 1-for-11 from the floor and had a shot-clock violation.
Knicks guard Jose Calderon has a unique perspective on Porzingis, as he followed his play last season for Cajasol Seville in Spain.
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The Heat often were lethargic with their early play, despite the Celtics being the team playing on the second night of a back-to-back after losing Sunday in Orlando.
