Dwayne Wade Rallies Heat Over Knicks for Crushing Loss

Unfortunately, no one could have stopped a determined Dwyane Wade down the stretch.

After going to the sideline with a bloody lip and his team down 15 in the fourth quarter, Wade took over and the Knicks were unable to fully regain control despite taking it down to the wire in a 120 -115 defeat at American Airlines Arena on Saturday night.

It was the Knicks’ second heartbreaking loss in as many nights after a furious comeback attempt fell short against the Sixers on Friday. This time, however, it was New York’s opponent that made the late rally as the Knicks lost for the first time after holding that big of a lead.

Wade poured in 24 of his game-high 46 points in the fourth quarter and sparked a game-changing 19-0 run following an unintentional elbow to the face from Danilo Gallinari to give the Heat their first lead since early in the first quarter with 4:20 left to play.

Wade outscored the entire Knicks team by seven in the final period and matched a Miami franchise record for points in a quarter. He also finished the game with 10 assists.

“It’s tough especially on the road to hold someone like that off,” said David Lee, who had 18 points and 13 rebounds. “He came out and really seemed to make all the defensive plays and all the offensive plays. Even when someone else scored it was because he made the pass, so he really took over the game on both ends.”

Nate Robinson led the Knicks with 29 points off the bench, but was hobbled with an ankle injury in the second half. He missed a 3-pointer from the corner that could have tied the game in the closing seconds that instead clanked off the rim into the hands of Udonis Haslem, who sealed the game with two free throws.

“It was killing me the whole second half. I really couldn’t run,” Robinson said of the injury suffered with around four minutes left in the second quarter. “The coach said the team needed me so I got to suck it up and play.”

Hughes made his first start with the Knicks after Mike D’Antoni praised his perimeter defense. The new Knicks guard helped contain Wade for the first three quarters - forcing the Heat superstar into more of a jump shooter early on - and finished with two steals.

On offense, Hughes contributed 19 points, including the 3-pointer that tied the game at 114-114 with 1:19 remaining. His starting backcourt teammate Chris Duhon scored 19 of his own to go along with nine assists.

“I think he could be really good and I think he’s playing well,” D’Antoni said. “I think a lot of good stuff happened tonight.”