South Beach Butt Whooping

Marc Serota - Getty Images

Well the playoffs began today at full speed and the Knicks looked like they were still asleep from the night before.  Lebron James dominated the game and chants of MVP started streaming through the American Airline arena before the game even reached halftime.  The Heat outscored the Knicks 30-13 in the 2nd quarter alone and going into halftime Lebron went on a 9-0 run for the Heat, ending the first half with 23 points.  At halftime the heat had almost as many free throw attempts as the Knicks had turnovers and the Heat led 54-31 at the half.  The lead for the Heat, who did not trail the entire game, reached as high as 37 points, including a 31 point lead in the 3rd quarter in which the Knicks did not score a single point until Stoudemire made 2 free throws with 9 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.  After going up by 31 points, the Knicks went on a 9-0 run that was sparked by Stoudemire free throws and cut the Heat lead down to 22 points.  But the effort was not enough for the Knicks as New York had 22 turnovers throughout the game with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and the Heat pushed the lead to 81-47 at the end of the 3rd quarter.  Through 3 quarters the Knicks had 24 turnovers and the heat capitalized off of that scoring 34 points off of the Knicks turnovers.  Lebron ended the 3rd quarter with a killer 3 pointer with 1.4 seconds left in the quarter and did not need to score anymore for the Heat with Miami ending the game on top 100-67 over New York.  In the end Wade had 19 points, JR Smith led the Knicks with 17 points and Lebron led the way with 32 points.  The next game in the series will be Monday at 7:00pm.

Iman Shumpert left the game during the 3rd quarter with a knee injury.  Shumpert was hurt on a non-contact play and had to be carried off the court and was taken to a local hospital during the game for a MRI and testing.

UPDATE: Shumpert is expected to miss 6-8 months after surgery according to the New York Knicks.  Shumpert suffered a torn left ACL and lateral meniscus during Saturday's game against the Miami Heat.