Heat look to continue playoff push vs. Knicks
The Miami Heat spent Tuesday night playing down to the last possession in Detroit. When the final buzzer sounded, Miami walked off the court with a hard-fought win to continue its pursuit of a playoff spot in the crowded Eastern Conference race. Miami continues its bid for the playoffs Wednesday night when it visits the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Heat are two weeks away from completing a remarkable turnaround in the last 2 1/2 months of the season. They were 11-30 following an eight-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks but have since won 25 of their last 33 contests. Miami travels to New York following a 97-96 victory over the Pistons. Hassan Whiteside secured the win when he maneuvered the ball to his left hand and completed a tip-in shot just before the buzzer. "Our guys want this so bad," Miami coach Erik Spolestra said after his team faced a four-point deficit in the final 30 seconds. "They really care about each other. They've developed such a strong bond. Guys really love each other. They want to play well for each other. It's bigger than just themselves." Whiteside capped a showing of 17 points and nine rebounds after a wild scramble in which James Johnson and Goran Dragic missed shots. He was playing his third game with 13 stitches on a lacerated right hand. "I got my dirty left hand on it and it went in," Whiteside said. "I lost the first rebound and then Goran got a second rebound. That was big. He threw it up there and I shot-tipped it in." It was the biggest shot of the season to date for Miami (36-38), which had lost three of four previous games. The Heat are one game ahead of the Chicago Bulls, one behind the seventh-place Indiana Pacers and two behind the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks. Miami has plenty of experience playing down to the wire this season. The Heat are 5-2 in games decided by five points or less during this run and 12-5 in games decided by single digits since Jan. 13. "We feel like there's something special with this group, but nothing's guaranteed," Spoelstra said. "We believe in that energy and that karma. We believe that because we went through so many frustrating games at the end that it developed some toughness, if for no other reason than when we're down four, we're not getting caught up in other things, the officiating or distractions, it's just the task at hand and a very small chance of winning that game." The Knicks are on the verge of being eliminated from the postseason for the fourth straight season since winning 54 games in 2012-13. Much to the dismay of some fans who want to see the Knicks get in the best lottery position possible, New York (28-46) snapped a five-game skid Monday with a 109-95 home win over the Detroit Pistons. "It's understandable," New York coach Jeff Hornacek said after his team shot 60 percent in the first half and did not allow a point for the first seven-plus minutes of the third quarter. "When you're not in the playoffs, everyone looks at the best draft pick you can get. It's hard. Players don't want to lose, coaches don't want to lose." Derrick Rose scored 27 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 25 and Carmelo Anthony contributed 21 after sitting the previous two games with a knee injury. "It was kind of a must-win for the team morale," Anthony said. New York has not won consecutive games since Dec. 20-22, when it was 16-13. Since getting those home wins over the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers, the Knicks are 12-33, including a 6-14 mark at home. Miami is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings and has won each of its last five games in New York. In the first meeting on Dec. 6, Anthony scored 35 points in a 114-103 win. |