The New York Knicks couldn’t maintain their strong first quarter start en-route to being outscored 86-61 by the Miami Heat in the final three quarters of what turned out to be a blowout, 111-87, at the Garden Friday night.
The Knicks held the lead 26-25 at the end of the first quarter on a Cole Aldrich hook shot in the paint. The team shot 50% in the first quarter — led by Tim Hardaway Jr. who scored 9 of his 17 total points in the period and Jose Calderon who dropped four assists — while holding the Heat to just 41% shooting from the field.
However, after taking the lead once more 28-27 on an Andrea Bargnani free throw with 11:26 left in the first half, the Knicks were outscored by 11, finishing the period down 33-22.
The Heat had three players in double figures at the half led by Luol Deng with 11 pts, including seven from the charity stripe. Dwyane Wade and Shabazz Napier each chipped in 10 points apiece.
New York kept the deficit in the single digits for much of the third period, but the team’s 13th and 14th turnovers proved to be costly as the Heat went on a 6-0 run to push the lead to 16 with 2:57 left in the third.
The Heat were without All-Star Forward Chris Bosh who is being treated in Miami for possible blood clots in his lungs. The Miami Herald is reporting that his season could be in jeopardy due to the illness.
Recently acquired free agent prize Goran Dragic was also inactive tonight. Dragic was part of the trading frenzy at Thursday’s 3pm trade deadline and was moved by the Phoenix Suns to the Heat for Danny Granger, Norris Cole, Justin Hamilton and two first round picks — a top seven protected 2017 first rounder and an unprotected 2021 first rounder.
Tony Owusu: PureSportsNY