Dwyane Wade scored 25 points, while Chris Bosh added 21 points and LeBron James added 19 to power the Miami Heat over the New York Knicks 104-94 on Monday, extending the Knicks’ NBA playoff winless streak to 12 games.
The Knicks suffered their 12th playoff loss in a row over multiple seasons, having not won a playoff game since 2001, to match the record NBA playoff losing streak established by the Memphis Grizzlies from 2004 through 2006.
Miami seized a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series, with Game 3 scheduled for tomorrow in New York.
Photo: Reuters
“We’ve just got to withstand anything they throw at us and find a way to get it done,” Wade said.
In the night’s other Eastern Conference playoff matchup, Indiana had 18 points each from David West, Danny Granger and George Hill in a 93-78 rout of visiting Orlando to level their series 1-1.
In Miami, Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while Amare Stoudemire added 18 points for the Knicks, who managed only one basket from the field in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter as the Heat pulled ahead 92-77 and coasted to the finish.
Wade scored 19 points in the first half, countering 21 points by Anthony in the first half and igniting the Heat attack.
“I just wanted to be aggressive from the start,” Wade said. “Last game, I started to get my legs under me. Early on, I wanted to be aggressive and I got a couple of shots to go.”
James added a game-high nine assists and seven rebounds for Miami.
To make thing worse for the Knicks, Stoudemire suffered severe cuts to his left hand after punching a small glass window in front of a fire extinguisher following the loss.
As a result of his actions in a moment of frustration, Stoudemire’s status for the remainder of the series is uncertain. He left the arena with a bandaged hand and his left arm in a sling.
“I am so mad at myself right now,” Stoudemire posted on his Twitter page. “I want to apologize to the fans and my team, not proud of my actions, headed home for a new start.”
In Indianapolis, the Pacers rebounded from a loss to snap a six-game win streak in Indiana by the Magic, although most of those triumphs came with now-injured All-Star center Dwight Howard in the Orlando lineup.
The Pacers outscored Orlando 51-34 in the second half, denying the Magic on a second-quarter run and adapting to dominate the second half.
“We were able to handle their run early in the second and we made some adjustments in the third quarter,” West said. “I thought our aggressiveness was the difference.”
Game 3 in the series is scheduled for today in Orlando.
“More than anything, we have to be aggressive,” West said. “We have a bunch of guys who can make plays. We just have to step up and do that in the fourth quarter.”
Glen Davis led Orlando with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while J.J. Redick added 13 points for the Magic and Jameer Nelson contributed 12 points.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was