Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks humble Miami Heat by 20 – NBA Recap
After spanking the Boston Celtics in their season opener, defending NBA champions Miami Heat came against a team which was h**l bent on giving its city some moments of joy, in the aftermath of the Hurricane Sandy.
The New York Knicks, led by a game-high 30 points and a team-high 10 rebounds from their superstar forward Carmelo Anthony, came out like a team possessed, schooling the Heat to a 104-84 loss.
Miami’s big three were rather subdued on the night - ten fast break points in the entire game was quite a testament to that fact. LeBron James ended the night with 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Dwyane Wade had 15
points, five rebounds and four assists while Chris Bosh had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Miami, who trailed by double digits through majority of the game.
Coach Erik Spoelstra was not impresses by the energy Miami brought into the game;
"Right from the get-go you could tell there was a difference in energy, disposition, quickness to the ball (on) both ends of the court," Spoelstra said. "They played a very good basketball game. Got us on our heels pretty much
the whole game and we weren't able to recover from there. We have to move on. We're clearly much better than this."
Carmelo has a lot of help from his teammates, 5 of whom also finished in double scoring figures. Steve Novak added 17 points off the bench, an effort which included 5 three pointers while Raymond Felton added 14 points and nine
assists to go with three steals. Jason Kidd had 12 points; J.R smith added 11 points and 6 dimes, while Tyson Chandler ended the night with 10 points and 8 rebounds, 6 of which were on the offensive glass.
Paced by Anthony, the Knicks erupted early on and raced to a 17-6 lead at nearly the halfway mark of the first quarter. Miami made it a seven point game in the ensuing passage, but the Knicks were just warming up. They hammered
another 11-0 run capped by a signature three from Carmelo to take their advantage to 30-12. A five point personal run by James followed, but Anthony ended the period with a three to make it 33-17.
Miami were expected to make a comeback in the second quarter and they did try their heart out. However, the Knicks were relentless. They countered the Heat with their offensive might and the closest; Miami got to them was 10 points
late in the half.
The first passage ended with the Knicks leading at 55-44 and a 10-2 run early in the third quarter, virtually sealed the deal. Knicks knocked down 6 three’s in the third quarter alone, and Heat were just not able to answer a 19-of-36
three point barrage from the Madison Square Garden franchise. They are now 1-1 in the season and will take on the Denver Nuggets next on Saturday.
The Knicks will face Philadelphia 76ers next.
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