Linsanity came to a screeching halt tonight, as Miami had little trouble with him or the Knicks while winning at home, 100-88.
Lin committed five quick turnovers and ended the night with eight. Shooting, he was 1-for-11 and made most of his 8 points at the free throw line. And he had only 3 assists.
But Lin was hardly the only problem for New York. Amar'e Stoudemire managed only two second-half points, and Carmelo Anthony started the night 1-for-8 before finally heating up for 19 points.
Baron Davis also didn't look like he's ready to have an impact, as he was 0-for-7. Best news of the night for New York might have been J.R. Smith's 14 points off the bench.
Miami, meantime, got 67 points from its Big Three. Chris Bosh led with 25, Dwyane Wade had 22 and LeBron James chipped in with 20 plus 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 steals.
Miami shot 49.4% and had 12 steals and 10 blocked shots.
We blogged the whole game.
Fourth quarter:
9:32: Lin gets a last-second steal under the basket, but can't make the shot. Game over, and the night totally belonged to Miami, which wins its eighth straight, 102-88. All eight of those victories have come by double-digit margins.
9:30: LeBron gets Miami to the century mark with a monster jam. That gives him 20 for the night and Miami leads 100-88 with less than a minute left.
9:28: Stoudemire hits a pair of free throws, and those are his first points of the second half. So no way does this apparent New York loss get totally blamed on Lin's struggles. Under two minutes left.
9:27: Bosh has 21 after sinking a moon shot from the corner to put Miami's lead at 12.
9:25: False alarm on Wade. He's back on the floor when play resumes, and is moving fine.
9:22: Lin is back in and misses his first shot, from the lane. He's 1-for-8. Miami is in control, leading 92-80, but may be looking at some bad news as Dwyane Wade limps off, hurt. Timeout, 5:07 left.
9:21: LeBron returns and immediately buries a deuce from the top of the key.
9:17: Wade gets the putback for a 90-76 Miami lead. He has a game-high 22 points. New York takes a timeout with 7:03 left. Lin is still sitting, but Baron Davis hasn't been effective replacing him at the point. Davis is 0-for-7, with some dreadful misses.
9:16: Wade dished to Bosh, who hits a 15-footer and has 19 points. LeBron is taking a rest and has 16 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals.
9:13: J.R. Smith adds a three forces Miami to take a timeout. Heat up, 84-76, 9:04 left in the game. That's 12 points for Smith.
9:12: Nice fadeaway bank shot by J.R. Smith. He has 9 points off the bench. And speaking of the bench, Lin is still sitting there.
9:10: Novak nails his fourth three of the night. New York really needed that. Gets the Knicks within 11.
9:08: Fourth quarter starts. Stoudemire didn't score in the third quarter after getting 11 points in the first half.
Third quarter:
9:03: LeBron hits a pair of free throws and then makes a clutch deuce on the baseline with .9 left in the quarter. Miami wins the quarter by 29-19 and leads 80-66.
9:02: Marv Albert points out on TNT that the Knicks have made 17 consecutive free throws since missing their first one of the game. So naturally J.R. Smith steps up and misses two from the line.
9:00: Lin is on the bench. New York is settling for long jumpers, and not making them. Heat lead 76-64.
8:57: Joel Anthony gets his fifth block of the night as he rejects a Lin shot. Battier hits a three from the corner at the other end, and the Heat have their biggest lead of the night at 75-62. The Heat have nine total blocks.
8:56: It's looking like NY has given up on the pick-and-roll. LeBron hits a pair of free throws and Miami's lead is back in double figures, at 72-62.
8:52: After those 15 turnovers in the first quarter, New York has been guilty of only one so far in the third quarter. Miami's big three has accounted for 47 points: 20 from Wade, 17 from Bosh and 10 from LeBron.
8:50: J.R. Smith adds a three for New York and Miami takes a timeout with 5:16 left, leading 68-62.
8:48: Lots of shooting and lots of missing. Lin drives the lane and draws the foul from LeBron, who isn't happy about the call. Lin makes both his shots and has 8 points. Miami leads, 66-59.
8:46: Carmelo and Bosh trade baskets. Carmelo has 15 now, as does Bosh.
8:45: Bosh hits a pair of free throws to get to a game-high 18 points and Bosh adds a jam to push the Miami lead to 63-53.
8:44: Deft move to the basket by Carmelo gives him 13 points after that wretched start and gets NY back within 6.
8:38: Wade's steal is the 12th of the night for Miami, and he gets an easy dunk. Then Wade comes right back with a soft jumper. That gives Miami its biggest lead of the night at 59-51, and forces Mike D'Antoni to take a timeout with 9:36 left in the quarter. LeBron has five of Miami's 12 steals.
8:36: Lin doesn't look rattled, despite the poor first half. He draws a foul and is smiling as he shares a laugh with Carmelo on his way to the line. And he hits both shots.
8:34: Third quarter begins with a failed jam attempt by Chris Bosh.
Halftime:
8:21: Some numbers at the half:
Stoudemire leads NY with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting, but also has 6 turnovers. Lin is 1-for-5 from the floor and has been getting schooled by the Miami defense, committing a half-dozen turnovers of his own. He has two points and two assists. The Knicks are shooting 45%, and have committed a total of 15 turnovers.
For Miami, Wade leads with 12 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Bosh and LeBron have 8 points apiece, and LeBron also has 3 rebounds and a team-high 4 assists. The Heat are shooting 47.7% and have 9 turnovers.
The TNT crew is unanimous that this has been Jeremy Lin's toughest half since he became a starter for New York.
Second quarter:
8:13: Carmelo hits a deuce at the horn. Nice finish for him with five quick points after a terrible start. Miami leads 51-47 at the half.
8:12: Chalmers hits a three just as the shot clock is about to go off.
8:11: Carmelo finally breaks out of the slump and bangs down a second-chance three. Knicks back within three.
8:10: The Heat get a three from Battier, and go up by four. Then Battier gets a rebound and adds another basket on an inbounds play. Miami by 6.
8:09: Tyson Chandler hits a pair at the line to keep NY with one, 1:56 left in the half.
8:08: Stoudemire puts down a hook shot with three defenders near him. But LeBron gets the lead right back on a ferocious dunk by LeBron. Lin had his sixth turnover in that sequence.
8:04: Carmelo has missed badly on two of New York's last three trips down the court and is now 1-for-8. Lin has five turnovers, two assists and two points.
8:03: More trouble for Lin as Battier draws an offensive foul from him. New York takes a timeout with 3:30 left and Miami up 39-38.
8:02: Wade gets a too-easy jumper, and then next time down Wade gets a follow stuff on a LeBron miss. Wade has 10 points.
7:59: Stoudemire has nine points, as does Novak for the Knicks. NY gets a nice spin move and basket from J.R. Smith. The new acquisition is looking like a very good fit. Knicks up by 3.
7:55: More from Stoudemire. He wastes no time powering past Bosh on the baseline for a jam. Knicks up 36-34 as Miami takes a timeout with 6:11 left in the half.
7:54: Chris Bosh is finally finding his shot. Hits a couple and Miami ties it at 34-34. Stoudemire gets a monster block as Wade tries a scoop shot.
7:52: Lin returns and immediately gets stripped by Cole, who takes it all the way for the dunk. That's four turnovers for Lin.
7:51: J.R. Smith has played seven solid minutes. No points, 2 assists, one board, but some very good defense.
7:48: Wade gets an artful basket but Jeffries answers with a long jumper. Timeout with 8:36 left in the half and NY up 32-28. Knicks have seemed a little better since Lin went to the bench late in the first quarter.
7:47: Air ball from Bosh. He has been a non-factor after sitting out most of the first quarter with two quick fouls.
7:46: Lin is still on the bench, BTW.
7:45: Miami continues to let Novak get wide open and he punishes the Heat with his third three in three tries. Knicks up 28-26.
7:44: Fields gets a second-chance basket for NY. Exactly what they need. Wade misses a layup and Novak hits his second three of the night. Miami still leads by one.
7:42: New York shot 38.1% in the first quarter to 47.4% for Miami. Carmelo has really struggled, going 1-for-6. New York has been strong on the boards, with a 13-5 edge, but has missed some easy putbacks.
First quarter:
7:39: First quarter ends, Miami up 24-20. It has been a very fast-paced game, and the Heat have seemed much more comfortable with that than New York. But the Knicks have to be very happy that they're only down by four, considering they have committed nine turnovers, including three by Lin and four by Stoudemire.
7:37: Knicks goal tend and then rush a shot to beat the shot clock. Mike Miller hits a three for the Heat, who are up by four.
7:36: Carmelo hits both for a 20-19 Knicks lead. Lin is on the bench, catching a rest.
7:35: Novak throws in a three. Knicks trail by one. Carmelo draws a foul and can put New York ahead.
7:34: LeBron has three assist to Lin's two.
7:31: Chalmers cuts on an inbounds play for an easy basket. Timeout with 2:57 left in the first quarter, Miami up 19-15. New York is controlling the boards, with an 11-5 rebounding edge.
7:30: Lin fake-pumps on the three and drives the lane for his first bucket, on his first shot of the night. Miami leading, 17-15.
7:29: Chris Bosh draws his second foul and takes a seat.
7:28: Tyson Chandler barks at the refs and draws a technical. And then D'Antoni gets teed up as well. Chalmers hits one.
7:27: Lin commits his third turnover of the game, and New York's seventh. Miami looks smart for putting Mario Chalmers on Lin. He's bottling Lin up.
7:26: LeBron threads the lane for a pretty basket. New York had four shots in the lane on its last possession, and couldn't knock it down.
7:24: Landry Fields hit a jumper for NY, then Stoudemire gets a steal but blows the dunk. He does draw the foul, however, and hits one of two. Miami leads 14-11. And that's two blown dunks by superstars already.
7:22: Bosh hits a pair at the line. Miami's lead is back to six.
7:20: Tyson Chandler gets a follow bucket. Knicks will need some more of that muscle in the lane. Miami's lead is cut to 12-8.
7:19: Lin draws an offensive foul on Wade. New York is having trouble handling the Miami defense, which is generally regarded as the NBA's best against the pick-and-roll.
7:15: Chalmers strips Lin and gets an easy dunk. Then Wade gets another breakaway jam and hits a fadeaway to put New York up 10-4. Mike D'Antoni needs a timeout and takes it. 9:01 left in the first quarter.
7:14: LeBron at the line. Hits a pair, and we're tied 4-4.
7:13: With the shot clock running down Lin finds Stoudemire down low. Wade tries to answer with a jam, but blows the dunk as the ball caroms off the rim.
7:11: Carmelo scores first for New York and LeBron answers with a monster dunk on the lob from Wade.
7:10: Just about ready to go now. The Knicks will start Lin, Tyson Chandler, Amar'e Stoudemire, J.R. Smith and Steve Novak. For the Heat, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Joel Anthony and Mario Chalmers.
7:07: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel says there's a good chance this will be the highest-rated regular-season game in NBA history, for a game broadcast on cable.
7:01: This is the second meeting this season between the Knicks and Heat. Miami won a home game on Jan. 27 against New York, 99-89. Lin didn't play in that game, and LeBron James had a game-high 31 points.
No comments:
Post a Comment