Last night at the American Airlines Arena, the New York Knicks put the NBA on notice that they are for real and they will be a force down the stretch. Not only did they defeat Lebron James and the Miami Heat (112-92), they did it without their star player Carmelo Anthony.
The star of the night by far was New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton who dropped 27 points, including 6 three pointers, four rebounds and seven assist. Felton’s teammates also stepped up and played big in the absence of Carmelo Anthony. J.R. Smith added 13 points, sharp shooter Steve Novak had 18 and Philly native Rasheed Wallace added 12.
Miami MVP Lebron James finished one assist short from having back to back triple-doubles having scored 31 points with 10 rebounds and 9 assist. Dwyane Wade struggled shooting 3-13 adding 13 points. This is Miami’s second straight lost after losing to the now 2-13 Washington Wizards on Wednesday (105-101). Lebron was asking wednesday was there a lesson to be learned for the loss to Washington and he replied with a smile “No”. I think wednesday’s loss was a blueprint for the NBA on how to beat the Heat. Go hard in the paint. Although Miami had arguably the best player in the NBA in Lebron James suiting up every night, the Heat puts out a relatively small lineup most nights that looks to out run opponents and put up timely three pointers. If the game is slowed down and becomes a half court game it appears to hurt Miami.
Knicks head coach Mike Woodson has his team focused and ready to show who the best team in New York and possibly the Eastern Conference.
© 2012, Eldorado2452. All rights reserved.
