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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) -- If the Knicks and Heat finish the regular season
with the same record, the tiebreaker edge will go to New York.
Kurt Thomas and Marcus Camby gave the Knicks that edge Sunday
with a performance that answered some of the questions about their
collective pride.
|  | | Brian Grant had 22 points and 12 rebounds to outplay Marcus Camby, but the Heat lost to the Knicks. |
Thomas had 16 points, 14 rebounds and a huge assist to Camby on
New York's final basket as the Knicks defeated Miami 86-83 Sunday
to clinch the season series between the teams.
After falling behind by 21 points in the first quarter, the
Knicks had their largest comeback of the season and pulled within a
half-game of the Heat for second place in the Atlantic Division.
"I thought we had a great response when we got down and showed
terrific heart," coach Jeff Van Gundy said, "and now the question
is do we build on that in the next game."
It was the Knicks' third victory over the Heat in four games
this season, and this one was close just like all the others.
Tim Hardaway had a chance to tie it on Miami's final possession,
but he missed a 3-pointer right before the buzzer -- just as he did
two weeks ago when the teams played another nailbiter at Madison
Square Garden.
"They have more firepower than we do, obviously," Miami coach
Pat Riley said. "Our guys have to realize that the only way we're
going to win is with deep-seeded, deep-rooted effort and spirit
because sometimes we're not going to have enough firepower."
Latrell Sprewell also scored 16 points, while Camby had 14
points and 13 rebounds. Allan Houston added 13 points as the Knicks
bounced back from an embarrassing loss at New Jersey on Friday
night.
Nets guard Stephon Marbury unleashed an angry tirade at Knicks
guard Charlie Ward after that game, much like former Knick Chris
Childs had taunted the Knicks last Sunday when they lost at
Toronto. The lack of a response to either incident caused Van Gundy
to angrily question his team's pride.
"He brought it up to us and said we were being a little soft
out there, and that's not New York type of basketball," Thomas
said.
It didn't take long for the Knicks to find their pride being put
to the test as they quickly fell behind by 21. But New York held
Miami to 11 points in the second quarter and 12 in the third,
eventually opening a 13-point lead before Miami made one last rush.
That's when Thomas, 10 of whose rebounds came on the offensive
end, made one of the biggest plays of the game, passing up an open
14-footer and feeding the ball to Camby for a short shot from the
lane with 26.3 seconds left for an 84-79 lead.
"I was a little off-balance and I saw that Marcus had a smaller
guy on him there under the basket," Thomas said. "He cracked that
it took me 47 minutes to get him the ball, but I finally got it to
him."
Brian Grant put back a miss with 19.6 left to make it a
three-point game. Houston, a 91 percent free throw shooter, missed
a pair of foul shots with 13.9 seconds left, giving the Heat a
chance to try for a quick 2-pointer or a game-tying 3-pointer.
Hardaway was fouled as he attempted a 3-pointer, but referee
Derrick Stafford ruled it a non-shooting foul -- giving Hardaway two
shots instead of three. He made both to make it a one-point game,
but Sprewell hit a pair from the line with 4.8 seconds left.
Miami had no timeouts left, and Hardaway was only able to get
off a 33-foot fling at the buzzer that missed badly.
Grant led the Heat with 22 points. Hardaway added 17 but shot
6-for-19.
The Knicks missed 17 of their first 19 shots and fell behind by
21 when A.C. Green hit an 18-foot jumper to make it 35-14 with 24
seconds left in the first quarter.
But the Heat shot just 3-for-18 in the quarter and let New York
pull to 46-40 by halftime.
New York scored 10 of the first 14 points of the third quarter
to tie it at 50-50 on a drive by Sprewell with 8:23 left.
The Knicks eventually stretched their lead to 77-64 when Thomas
made two foul shots with 5:48 left in the game after grabbing his
10th offensive rebound.
Miami made its final push from there, using a 12-2 run to pull
to 79-76 with 1:08 left.
Game notes
Knicks forward Larry Johnson missed his third straight game
with a sore back. Johnson has stopped taking anti-inflammatory
pills and is trying to relieve his chronic back pain with yoga and
acupuncture. He is uncertain when he will return. ... Miami's
Anthony Mason was peeved late in the third quarter when he caught
an elbow to the head from Othella Harrington and no foul was
called. Otherwise, the game was free of any extracurricular
animosity. ... The Knicks continue a four-game homestand Tuesday
night vs. Cleveland. They have lost four straight to the Cavaliers.
... The teams will play five times this season, with the last
meeting set for April 8. Their four games so far have been decided
by a total of 11 points.
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NBA Scoreboard
Miami Clubhouse
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RECAPS
New York 86
Miami 83
Philadelphia 97
Boston 91
Toronto 101
Vancouver 84
Sacramento 105
Utah 90
Detroit 95
Indiana 78
Cleveland 124
Milwaukee 110
Phoenix 94
Houston 92
Dallas 111
LA Clippers 93
Seattle 109
LA Lakers 97
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