The Heat took a 1-0 series lead behind a stellar defensive effort, highlight-reel plays from LeBron James and maybe a little help from the referees.
The Knicks were run off the court, losing 100-67 at Miami in Game 1. James had 32 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while Dwyane Wade chipped in 19 points. J.R. Smith led the Knicks with 17 points, most of which came long after the game was out-of-hand.
Carmelo Anthony started out 0-of-7 from the field and finished with 11 points on 3-of-15 shooting.
The game started well for the Knicks with a 3-pointer by Baron Davis and a thunderous dunk by Amar’e Stoudemire giving the Knicks a 5-0 lead. Wade would hit a jumper with 6:09 left in the first quarter to give the Heat a 12-11 lead. The Knicks would never lead again.
Davis had 10 points in the first quarter just to keep the Knicks in the game.
In the second quarter, the Heat blew the game wide open. They outscored New York 30-13 to take a 54-31 lead into the half. James had 11 points in the quarter, including the Heat’s last nine before halftime. They stretched the lead again in the third quarter with a 27-16 frame.
While the gap was widening in the second and third quarter, Knicks head coach Mike Woodson and the players grew increasingly frustrated with the officiating. The Heat took 33 free throws to the Knicks’ 11 in the game. Woodson, eventually fed up in the third quarter, was given a technical foul after complaining about a foul on Anthony when he felt James had bought a call falling to the floor on contact.
In even worse news, Knicks guard Iman Shumpert crumbled to the floor in the third quarter on a no-contact injury. He clutched his left knee as he writhed in pain on the floor. He was carried off the court by teammates and did not return. After the game it was announced that he tore his ACL and will be out for six to eight months.
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