South Beach Showdown

As 4 of the top 5 scorers in the NBA took the court last night in South Beach, it was definitely going to be a game that would be determined by the last few seconds of the game.  The New York Knicks were in South Beach and wanted to use last night as a "Statement game" in the words of Carmelo Anthony.  The game started out with a constant back and forth and eventually leaned in the hands of the Heat in the 1st quarter of the game.  Although the Heat only had 4 fast break points in the 1st, they led the Knicks 34-23 at the end of the quarter after having great defensive rotation throughout the quarter and 3-4 from the 3 point range while the Knicks were only 0-2.  In the 2nd quarter the Knicks still struggled from the 3 point range, going 1-13 from behind the arc with less than 5 minutes left in the 2nd quarter.  Although they struggled in 3 point attempts the Knicks ended the half on a 16-0 run which included a 3 pointer at the buzzer that put the Knicks on top of the Heat 52-51 at halftime.  After the half, James ended the Knicks scoring run and the Knicks had 7 turnovers within the first 7 minutes of the 2nd half.  Miller helped the Heat regain the lead going 3-4 in 3 point attempts in the 3rd quarter.  Even with the great defensive movement in the beginning of the game, the great attempts beyond the arc and leading at one point by 15, the Heat were unable to hold off and the Knicks defeated the Heat 91-86.  Anthony led the Knicks in scoring with 29 points and James led the Heat with 27 points.  The Knicks hit the court again tomorrow against the Magic and the Miami Heat has a few days off as their next game is Thursday also against the Orlando Magic.

Also Sunday in the NBA:

• After a shocking lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers right before All Star Weekend, the Lakers are now on a 4 game winning streak since the All Star break as they defeated the OKC Thunder yesterday 90-87.
• Grant Hill dropped 34 points in the Suns overtime thriller against the Pacers, the Sun held off to defeat the Pacers 110-108.
• Dallas Mavericks are now 21-8 on the road as the defeated the Toronto Raptors 114-96.
• Dwight Howard had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Orlando Magic 100-86 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.