It was always too much to ask for the Knicks to come back from down 3-0.
In a season that was never quiet, New York’s year ended last night with a whimper. They lost to the Heat, 106-94, to push them into what will likely be another tumultuous offseason.
But as for Game 5, the Knicks were never really in the game after the first quarter. Miami led by just four entering the second quarter, but a 27-20 second quarter, including a 7-2 run to close it out, put the Heat up by 11 at the half.
The Knicks never got closer than nine points with 4:48 left in the third quarter following two Landry Fields free throws.
LeBron James led the Heat with 29 points on 7-of-16 shooting in addition to eight rebounds and seven assists, but all three all-stars were strong as usual. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh both had 19 points.
Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 35 points. No one else on the Knicks had more than 14 points and of the bench’s 16 points, J.R. Smith had 12.
Now the Knicks have a long offseason to think about a roller coaster of a season.
Owner James Dolan and general manager Glen Grunwald have to make a decision on whether interim head coach Mike Woodson will be back first and foremost. It seemed like a given when he carried the team to the playoffs, but an unimpressive showing will likely have Dolan at least searching for a bigger name replacement.
Jeremy Lin, who never played in the postseason or the final 17 games of the regular season, is a restricted free agent, while Smith has a player option and Steve Novak and Jared Jeffries are both unrestricted free agents. There are many decisions to be made.
What went wrong …
1. From deep
The Knicks were carried by 3-point shooting, especially from bench stars Steve Novak and J.R. Smith, at many points during the second half of the regular season. They struggled all postseason from beyond the arc though. Novak barely played in Game 5, while Smith was 0-for-4 from 3.
2. Poor shooting
Much like Game 3, when everyone but Carmelo Anthony shot well in small quantities, the overall shooting percentage was misleading. Anthony shot 15-of-31, while the rest of the team was 16-of-27.
3. Stop chucking
J.R. Smith likes to shoot. We knew that when the Knicks signed him during the season. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. He was 3-of-15 in Game 5. That won’t work.
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