MIAMI — If you’re searching for a reason why Amar’e Stoudemire would commit the insanely foolish act of punching glass following last night’s 104-94 loss to the Heat last night, it might be that the Heat moved to 2-0 in the best-of-seven series by beating the Knicks at their own game.
This wasn’t the high-flying Heat who whipped the Knicks in Game 1 with an array of dunks and transition points. Last night, the Heat did what many think it still can’t do, win a playoff game with primarily its half-court offense.
While Dwyane Wade took advantage of the absence of Iman Shumpert, the Heat used a balanced attack to deny the Knicks a victory on its home court. Wade scored 25, while Chris Bosh added 21 and LeBron James 19. But it was the 13 points from Mario Chalmers and 11 each from Mike Miller and Shane Battier that kept the Knicks at a distance.
“We’re much better and much tougher to defend when you don’t know where the ball’s going,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “That’s what teamwork is all about.”
The Knicks had complained after Game 1 they had played too much to the Heat’s fast-paced tempo. They hoped to be more patient in Game 2, an approach that kept the game competitive, especially in the first half. They limited their turnovers, finishing with only 13 for the game as compared to 27 on Saturday. They also finished with a solid field goal percentage, 49.4.
That kept James from flying up and down the court for transition baskets as he’d done so often in compiling 32 points in Game 1. It also helped that Carmelo Anthony found his game early. By the end of the first quarter, he had more points (15) than he did all of Game 1 (11). He converted some early buckets, mostly jumpers, over James, and then schooled Battier, who seemed helpless against the Knicks scorer.
All of his work came out of the Knicks’ half-court offense, which helped keep the game at a reasonable pace.
“I thought our pick and roll offense was pretty good,” said Knicks coach Mike Woodson. “We were a lot more patient. We weren’t rushed and throwing the ball all over the gym like we did the other night.”
Yet despite playing the game at their tempo, the Knicks trailed throughout the second half, failing to get key stops when they needed them. It wasn’t always James or Wade providing the critical baskets either. Chalmers scored six straight points for his team early in the fourth quarter and then later Battier buried a three to make it 97-83 with 2:51 to play.
“We had opportunities to close the gap in the fourth quarter,” Woodson said. “We couldn’t get the stops that we needed to keep it close. They made the plays that they had to make. But I feel good going home and playing in front of our fans. Now we have to see what we’re made of at home.”
That’s all the Knicks can cling to now. They lost Shumpert to a knee injury in Game 1 and now Stoudemire’s availability is in question after his foolish move after last night’s game. Interestingly, earlier yesterday, Stoudemire tried to encourage Shumpert about his upcoming rehab following knee surgery.
Stoudemire went through the same ordeal in 2005 when he blew out his left knee, requiring microfracture surgery. He was one of the lucky ones who played well post-surgery.
“Anytime you suffer a severe injury it’s takes a lot of perseverance, it takes patience, it takes self-discipline,” Stoudemire said.
Too bad Stoudemire didn’t exercise his own self-discipline after last night’s game.
george.willis@nypost.com