By Michael Ventura
DNAinfo Senior Editor
MANHATTAN — Dwyane Wade's burned New York for 40 points as the Miami Heat beat the Knicks, 106-98, Tuesday for the second time in 11 days.
The last time the teams played, the Knicks got blown out at Madison Square Garden, 113-91, on Dec. 17. Early on, it looked like New York was on its way to another humiliating loss when they went down by 22 in the second quarter.
But they spent the rest of the game clawing their way back, pulling to within three points in the final minutes. A late dunk and 3-pointer by Wade put the game out of reach for New York.
Despite the loss, the Knicks felt they had achieved a moral victory by hanging around in the game where Wade and James put up big numbers.
"It was a measuring-stick game for us," Amar'e Stoudemire, who dropped 30 points for the Knicks, told the Daily News. "I think we played well, despite the first quarter. We're still getting better."
LeBron James fell two assists shy of his second straight triple-double against the Knicks. He finished the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.
“We had a shot,” Knicks Coach Mike D’Antoni told the New York Times. “Obviously, you don’t want to get down 20 on them. We did not start the game with the intensity that we finished the game, and that’s too bad.”
The schedule for the Knicks (18-13) doesn't get any easier this week. Thursday night, they face Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic (20-12).
