Empire Writes Back
Fansided

Knicks Fall To Miami Heat In Vintage Dwayne Wade Performance

By Kenneth Teape

facebooktwitterreddit

Final. 79. 27. 86. 110

It was another disappointing night at Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks as they lost to the Miami Heat, giving them four straight losses, and defeats in six of their last seven games. The Knicks were unable to get over the hump tonight, as the Heat led the whole game and by as many as 16 points. The Knicks gave it all they could tonight, as the effort was certainly there. Unfortunately the talent and performance were not. The Knicks record now sits at 4-14 on the season and falls to 3-6 at Madison Square Garden.

More from Empire Writes Back

Player of the Game: Amar’e Stoudemire

After calling out his teammates for their effort against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night, Stoudemire backed up his talk tonight against the Heat. Stoudemire played a season-high 37 minutes, turning in yet another double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. STAT kept multiple possessions alive for the Knick with seven offensive rebounds, and finished plenty as well as he shot an efficient 7-13. Stoudemire has been a consistent weapon off the bench for the Knicks, and continues to be their one steady performer off the bench.

-Melo’s Triumphant Return

After missing the last 2.5 games with back spasms, Carmelo Anthony returned to the lineup tonight, picking right up where he left off. Anthony poured in a game-high 31 points on 11-26 from the field. Anthony struggled some with his shot, making only 1-6 from beyond the three-point line. He also added eight rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. It is cringe-worthy to think of what the Knicks offense may have looked like tonight without Anthony, as he was the only other Knick to hit double-digits along with Stoudemire.

More from Carmelo Anthony

– Shooting Struggles

It was a struggle offensive for the Knicks and Heat, as both teams struggled to get the ball in the basket. On the night, the Heat shot 41.7 percent from the field and 30.3 from the three-point line. The Knicks were worse from both, knocking down only 35.2 percent overall and an even worse 12.5 from deep. Neither team was able to consistently put together an offensive attack, and the lulls each team went through kept it to the score it ended up being.

-Turning Back the Clock

Nov 30, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) reacts against the New York Knicks during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. The Heat defeated the Knicks 86-79. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Dwyane Wade has tormented the Knicks plenty of times throughout his storied career, and tonight was no different. Wade put on a vintage performance, scoring a team-high 27 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. Wade took advantage of the Knicks from the midrange, knocking down multiple jumpers from 10-15 feet away from the basket, using his patented pump fake to get defenders in the air for and-ones. He did uncharacteristically have seven turnovers, but was knocking off some rust as he missed the last seven games with lingering hamstring problems.

-Change of Rotation

Could tonight be a change of things to come? Derek Fisher cut his rotation in the second half, as only Stoudemire, Shane Larkin and Tim Hardaway Jr. played double-digit minutes off the bench. J.R. Smith allowed a backdoor play in the first half, and didn’t return to the court after that, playing only six minutes. Pablo Prigioni also only played six minutes, as Larkin provided a nice spark for the Knicks in the second half. Jason Smith has seen his minutes drastically reduced as well, playing only six too and Travis Wear played nine. Is this the beginning of Fisher transitioning to a rotation and riding with it instead of the constant tinkering that has been done thus far?

Home/Carmelo Anthony