The Miami HEAT defeated the New York Knicks 97-78 Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Gerald Green led the way for the HEAT with 25 points.
1. Green Cooks In The Fourth
After scoring 16 points against the Pistons on Wednesday, it seemed as though Green might have gotten out of his shooting slump. Judging by Green’s fourth quarter on Friday night, that became quite clear.
Green also competed very well on the defensive end and helped hold Carmelo Anthony to just 4-of-13 shooting, including zero points after the first quarter.
2. Captains Come Through
With Miami down early in the second quarter, both Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade went to work to get the HEAT back in it. Bosh kicked things off in the quarter with eight straight points, including a corner three off a drive-and-kick by Wade. Speaking of Wade, he helped Miami close the half on a 12-4 run, sparked by an amazing crossover and mid-range jumper with Langston Galloway on him.
That wasn’t the only highlight play from Wade, though. Earlier, he turned back the clock with a great dunk in transition.
With 9:11 left in the first quarter, Green fronted Anthony in the post and came away with the entry pass from Kyle O'Quinn. He then passed it up ahead to Wade, who raced down court, hit Arron Afflalo with the Euro-step and threw down the one-handed jam.
Bosh, meanwhile, mixed it up with some aggressive drives against rookie Kristaps Porzingis in addition to his usual mid-range jumpers. He scored 14 of his 20 points in the second quarter on 5-of-9 shooting. Wade, on the other hand, continued to find the range in the third and connected on some tough jumpers. The 33-year-old finished with 17 points, five boards and three assists.
3. The One-Man Fast Break
After a few solid games in a row, Goran Dragic really got back to what he does best against the Knicks. Dragic pushed tempo often and finished multiple transition layups in the contest. Early on, the point guard also set up his teammates with some nice looks after driving into the lane. In all, Dragic had nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
Other Takeaways:
-Like on Monday against New York, Hassan Whiteside battled very hard down-low with Robin Lopez. Whiteside snagged five offensive boards on the night and hit the deck for a loose ball in the second quarter.
The big man really started to get going in the third, where he blocked three shots. On one sequence in particular, he swatted Kevin Seraphin from behind in the post and then recovered to block Lance Thomas’ jumper as well.
Whiteside finished the night with six points, 14 rebounds and six blocks.
Game Notes:
-Luol Deng (strained hamstring) sat out and Amar’e Stoudemire (illness) didn’t travel for the road trip.
-With the win, the HEAT have now defeated the Knicks eight straight times, which is the longest winning streak against the team in franchise history.