Dwyane Wade scores 17 points in Heat win

The Heat did not record their 10th victory of the 2014-15 season until December 9.

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.

Green dropped in 20 second-half points as the Heat outscored the Knicks 47-29 after the break. Boston certainly isn’t an elite team and gave a awful performance Sunday while falling 110-91 to the Orlando Magic in the opener of a five-game road trip.

Head to head, the Celtics are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings in Miami and 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings overall. Point guard Goran Dragic was held to nine points. Jared Sullinger netted 17 points, while Jae Crowder and Evan Turner each added 13. Whiteside had a forgettable game offensively in Friday’s win at NY, but grabbed 14 rebounds and swatted six shots. This week for the Heat is especially tough because they face three teams in a row that made the playoffs in the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers. They can allow Deng to sit out as long as he needs to fully recover from his injury as Green looks fully capable of filling in at small forward until he is ready to return.

Anthony got the early start as the Knicks built a 27-26 edge. And, of course, Bron, we know what he can do. “We just got to go day-by-day”.

That hasn’t always been the case with Green, who is on his eighth team since being drafted 18th overall by Boston in 2005. For a team that is as lacking as the Heat on the bench in certain areas, the wing is not one of those places.

“I feel confident that when it’s time to settle things down, I’m ready”, George said.

The Knicks led for the majority of the first half – at two points going up by seven in the second quarter – but the Heat dominated down the stretch, tying it on Hassan Whiteside’s free throw with 9:09 left in the third quarter and taking the lead on his next one.

Bradley vs. Wade wasn’t exactly a marquee matchup by National Basketball Association standards, but the two clearly were the two best players on the floor in Boston’s 105-95 win at American Airlines Arena.

Carmelo Anthony had 21 points to lead NY but he only shot 6-of-16 from the field and went 0-of-5 from beyond the arc.

– Kristaps did nail Dwyane Wade with a stiff-arm in the first quarter, so he remains awesome.

Midway through the first quarter, the Celtics were experiencing a rough start, as they tend to do. “Jose has really gotten better over every game over the last few weeks”. The guard scored 25 points at Miami in March but only mustered four in a 93-86 home defeat later that month.