Heat Pull Off Biggest Comeback Of Year, Top Knicks 109-95
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – The New York Knicks became the first NBA team this season to be guaranteed of finishing with a sub-.500 record, as the Miami Heat pulled away with a 109-95 win on Monday night.
Chris Bosh scored 32 points, Mario Chalmers added 18, Luol Deng and Norris Cole each scored 12 and Chris Andersen finished with 10 for Miami, which posted its biggest comeback win of the season after being down 14 early.
Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points for the Knicks, who became the first NBA team this season to be guaranteed of finishing with a sub-.500 record. Anthony left in the fourth quarter to get his knee re-taped, but never returned.
Amare Stoudemire scored 14 for New York.
The Heat outscored New York 32-18 in the fourth, with Andersen throwing a behind-the-back assist to Bosh to help spark the runaway, and then Bosh sealed it by hitting a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring with 4:18 left. Bosh added another jumper on the next possession to push the Miami lead to 14 and the outcome was academic from there.
Bosh also had six assists, tying his most as a member of the Heat - who were again without Dwyane Wade, still sidelined by a strained hamstring.
Anthony didn't take a shot until the game was nearly 4 minutes old. But once he started shooting, good things started happening in a hurry for the Knicks.
He made his first five shots, four of them from 3-point range and barely threatening the rim with any of them. Anthony's 14 first-quarter points matched a season high, the Knicks led by as many as 14 in the opening minutes and were up 32-23 when the period ended.
Bosh came alive with 13 points in the second quarter as Miami got within four at the break, and the third quarter - a big problem for the Heat all season - helped the hosts take the lead, with Chalmers hitting a 3-pointer in the final seconds for a 77-74 edge going into the final 12 minutes.
Then the fourth was all Miami.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Miami Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga was in the crowd to see his former point guard, the Knicks' Shane Larkin. ... New York was to wear white jerseys, with the Heat opting to wear "black tie" - a nod to tuxedoes - at home. But the Knicks forgot and played in their traditional blue road uniforms instead. ... New York needs to finish 12-18 to avoid having the worst single-season record in franchise history.
Heat: Wade and Bosh have played together in only 28 of Miami's 51 games. They got All-Star jerseys in a pregame ceremony Monday, and there's still no determination if Wade will play in the league's midseason classic at New York on Sunday. ... Miami visits Cleveland on Wednesday. The Heat have lost their past nine Wednesday contests. ... Hassan Whiteside had seven points and six rebounds in the third quarter.
HEAT VERSUS WORST
It was the second time in less than a week that the Heat played a team holding the NBA's worst record. Minnesota was 8-40 going into its victory over Miami on Wednesday; the Knicks came into Monday one game behind the Timberwolves in the overall league standings.
BARGNANI RETURNS
After missing 89 of New York's past 91 games going back to last season, former No. 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani returned for the Knicks. He picked up three fouls in 3 1/2 minutes before halftime and finished with four points and two rebounds in nearly 14 minutes.
UP NEXT
Knicks: At Orlando on Wednesday.
Heat: At Cleveland on Wednesday.
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