NY Knicks: It was another capacity crowd at the Garden, as the Knicks tried to avoid being swept by the Heat. It was an ugly start for the Knicks – they couldn’t get into any offensive flow. One good sign was Amar’e Stoudemire, back in the starting line up. Amar’e sparked the Knicks with two dunks to get the crowd going. But Stoudemire picked up three fouls, relegating him to the bench.
Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks in scoring with 18 points in the first half. The rest of the team struggled in the first half to score, combining for only twenty points. The Knicks bench, which was key during the final six games of the regular season, have been a non-factor in this series. Steve Novack has been neutrualized by the swarming defense of the Heat.
At the beginning of the 3rd quarter the Heat came out with an offensive fury, pushing the lead to 11 points with 6:30 remaining in the quarter. But the Knicks would fight back, out-scoring the Heat 26 to 17 in the third quarter. Amar’e Stoudemire was key in sparking the Knicks again with his aggressive play. Stoudemire scored 11 points in the quarter, giving the Knicks a 3- point lead at the end of the 3rd quarter 64-to-61.
So it comes down to this: 12 minutes remaining in the game, the Knicks up by three and their season on the line. Who will be the player that saves the Knicks from being swept for the second consecutive season? It was back and forth, as the Heat and Knicks went toe to toe like Mayweather and Cotto last night. Melo was huge down the stretch, not allowing the Heat to run away with the game.
Melo finally found his shooting touch in this series, as he made big shots, scoring a game high 41 ponts, refusing to lose the final game of the season on the Garden floor.
It was veteran Mike Bibby to the rescue as he nailed a three pointer with 50 seconds left in the game, giving the Knicks an 89-to- 87 win over the Heat..