NY Knicks: It was a great atmosphere at MSG on a nice Sunday afternoon as the Knicks welcomed in the Miami Heat. You know it’s a big game when JayZ and Beyonce are sitting courtside. The Heat came to play this afternoon, as Wade and Lebron seemed focused, pushing the tempo, getting out on the break for easy shots. Wade finished the quarter with twelve points, giving the Heat a 29 to 22 lead.
The Knicks understand that in order to compete with the Heat, they have to pick up the defensive intensity. And that’s the extactly what they did – holding the Heat to 17 points in the 2nd quarter. Melo kept providing the offense as he poured in 10 points in the quarter – he finished with 22 in the first half, keeping the Knicks within striking distance at the half 46 to 44.
It was a rough and tumble start for both teams in the 3rd quarter as both teams picked up the defensive intensity. Throughout all of the rough and rugged play the Heat was able to extend their lead to 9 with 3:30 left in the quarter. Tyson Chandler was called for a flagrant foul on LeBron James late in the quarter, but for some reason it seem to fuel the Knicks intensity, as they would go on a 7-0 run to close the quarter with game tied at 75 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
At the beginningof the fourth the Garden was rocking, reminding me of the olden days when Starks and Ewing were battling Jordan and the Bulls. Iman Shumpert was key early in the quarter stripping D-Wade on consecutive plays. J.R. Smith would finally get it going with back to back three pointers putting the Knicks up by four with 6:41 left in quarter.
But you can never count the Heat out, with three premier All-Stars in Wade, Bosh and James. With four minutes left in game Miami went on an 11-2 run to put the game away 93 to 85 – a big Heat win.
Vernon McKenzie: PureSportNY