Heat 97, Knicks 78

They combined for just eight points Friday night, but Knicks coach Derek Fisher likes what he’s seen from his starting backcourt of veterans Jose Calderon and Arron Afflalo in the first nine games since the latter returned from a hamstring injury on November 11.

And seeing as they are bent on recovering from a disastrous season, Miami is indeed looking good all thanks to the old reliable formula of defense. However, that second half fury wasn’t there to start the game.

While Green will steal the headlines with his explosive offensive performance, it was the Heat’s throttling defense that was the key to victory-they held the Knicks to just 37.6 percent shooting from the field and 3-of-14 from three-point range. The unlikely anchor of it all is a kid named Hassan Whiteside, who has certainly made a living swatting out shots for his team.

Knicks: The team opened a four-game homestand. Then, last season, even amid tumult, Phoenix won 39 games, which would have been eighth in the East, but was 10th in the West. While the West has the teams with the two top records (the Warriors and Spurs) entering Saturday’s play, there were actually more teams at. Deng hopes to return Monday against Boston. A lot of guys don’t know where we’re going to play or what time we’re going to play.

“I don’t agree with that”.

To get scores in this coming match, go to National Basketball Association. “You don’t think he can get better at something he’s already really good at, but he’s damn good this year”. “That’s going to be different every night”.

Dragic laughed when asked why the West has been better. “It’s different styles, so that’s why numbers can get people confused sometimes”. The Heat blew out the Knicks, 97-78, with Wade and Bosh, clearly not exhausted out by the Thanksgiving dinner, carrying the team much of the night and then clearing out for Gerald Green. He came into Friday’s game averaging 22.8 points per game compared to 13.4 for Porzingis. Nor was the way he got it. Once again, Bosh’s scoring picked up as the game proceeded.

The match was at the American Airlines Arena and the Heat started off early, building a seven point advantage after the first quarter. But it’s also clear that Bosh is not getting established early as often as others, with Whiteside leading with 4.9 points in 8.9 minutes.

There was no definitive word after Friday’s game whether a search party was dispatched to 8th Avenue to search for Langston Galloway, but Wade’s ankle-busting step-back jumper in the second period sent the Knicks guard sprawling.

With Miami trying to bounce back from Wednesday’s 104-81 loss at Detroit, Dwyane Wade will have some added motivation after finishing with two points on 1-for-9 shooting in his lowest scoring game when playing at least 20 minutes.