New York finds way to escape stifling Heat
Knicks steal homecourt edge from Miami in game marked by sloppy, careless play
MIAMI -- Once again, the New York Knicks negated the Miami Heat's homecourt advantage.
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In a sloppy game with more slapstick than a Broadway farce, the Knicks beat the Heat 82-76 Tuesday to even the best-of-seven series at 1-1.
The teams have met in the playoffs the past four years, splitting the first two games in Miami every time. New York went on to eliminate the Heat the past two seasons.
Heat coach Pat Riley noted that his players once again squandered the homecourt edge they worked for 82 regular-season games to earn.
''You work that hard, and we gave it all back in one two-hour stand,'' Riley said.
Game 3 will be Friday at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks evened the series despite plenty of ugly moments. Marcus Camby missed a dunk. Patrick Ewing hit the side of the backboard with a jumper. Camby and Kurt Thomas wrestled each other for a rebound and dropped the ball out of bounds.
Somehow, New York still built an 18-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, then withstood a late Miami charge.
The Heat shot just 34 percent, tying a franchise playoff low, and they missed 14 of 33 free throws, including seven in a row in the first half.
''Our free-throw defense was outstanding,'' Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy joked.
''It was an ugly game out there,'' said Jamal Mashburn, who led Miami with 25 points. ''We've got to make free throws. That probably would have bailed us out.''
The Knicks shot 26 percent in the first half and still led by four. They finally pulled away in the third quarter.
New York Knicks guard Latrell Sprewell takes it to an open basket against the Miami Heat in the 82-76 Knicks victory Tuesday May 9 at American Airlines Arena in Miami during game two of the second round of the playoffs.
AP/Tony Gutierrez
''The rock wasn't going in the hole,'' Van Gundy said. ''That was some bad shooting in that first half.''
Ewing and Charlie Ward had 13 points each for the Knicks, who had six players in double figures.
''Charlie hit some big shots for them,'' Heat forward P.J. Brown said. ''He was the x-factor. He deserves a lot of credit for their win.''
Ward sank a pair of 3-pointers and had six rebounds and no turnovers in 37 minutes.
''I'm not a superstar. I don't get a lot of press,'' he said. ''But you need guys to help pull a team together. I've been trying to do that since I got here.''
Alonzo Mourning had 17 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks for Miami. Tim Hardaway, playing with a sore left foot, had 13 points and three assists in 30 minutes.
''It was sort of a surreal game,'' Riley said. ''We rebounded and played well enough defensively, but offensively we were horrendous. Instead of taking the ball strong to the basket, we settled for long jumpers and that hope game we get into at times.''
As the Knicks promised, Game 2 was more physical than the first game. There were 60 fouls, compared with 40 Sunday when Miami won 87-83.
Trail Blazers 103, Jazz 85
PORTLAND, Ore. -- In the end, all the Utah Jazz were playing for was their dignity. And there wasn't much left of that.
The Jazz certainly don't have much hope left, not after their 103-85 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night, which left Utah down 2-0 and wondering if it can win even one game in this best-of-seven series.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Salt Lake City.
Steve Smith scored 11 of his 19 points in the third quarter, and five of his teammates scored in double figures as the Blazers jumped to an early lead and squelched any hope of Utah coming back from its 94-75 loss in Game 1.
Karl Malone was held to just 15 points, barely half of his playoff average this season. Yet, his total actually led the Jazz. Bryon Russell had 12 points.
Malone, showing no ill effects from a left knee injury Sunday, got little help from his teammates for the second straight game. The rest of Utah's starters scored just 25 points, two less than Sunday.
A hook by Jermaine O'Neal, playing his first minutes of the playoffs, made it 93-63 with 7:37 to go. The lead reached as high as 33.
Only a fourth-quarter flurry by the Jazz reserves kept this loss from ranking among Utah's most lopsided ever in the playoffs, although it didn't come close to its 96-54 defeat by the Chicago Bulls in Game 3 of the 1998 Finals.
After Sunday's loss, Utah needed a quick start, and it didn't come. The Jazz committed two turnovers on their first three possessions and were outscored 13-6 in the last half of the period.
Rasheed Wallace hit a long jumper, and Scottie Pippen followed with a 3-pointer to give the Blazers a 20-12 lead. Wallace hit a short turnaround jumper, then followed his own miss as Malone flopped on the floor for a 24-14 lead.
Utah, outscored 29-14 in the fourth quarter of Game 1, was outscored 24-16 in the first Tuesday night.
And it only got worse for the Jazz after that.
The Blazers' reserves dominated the second period as Greg Anthony and Detlef Schrempf combined for 19 points, matching the entire Jazz team's output.
Anthony schooled John Stockton at both ends of the floor during a key 10-0 run. First, Anthony hit a 17-footer, got fouled by Stockton and converted the free throw to make it 34-22.
On the next possession, Stockton was stripped of the ball by Anthony, who then hit a short running jumper. After the Jazz let the shot clock run out, Anthony got fouled by Stockton and made both free throws.
Schrempf made a 3-pointer to cap the run and extend the lead to 41-22 with 5:08 left. Anthony later hit a 3-pointer, and Smith finished the Blazers' 32-point quarter with a long jumper for a 56-35 halftime lead.
The Jazz briefly came to life in the third, cutting it to 15 on a 19-foot jumper by Stockton. But Damon Stoudamire hit a midrange shot and, after Malone lost the ball, drove for a layup to build the lead to 66-45.
Smith, who had 11 points in the quarter, hit a 3-pointer with 33.8 seconds left to make it a laugher at 80-55.
Notes: Utah has led for just three minutes and 28 seconds in the series, all early in the first quarter. ... The Blazers scored 27 points off 17 Jazz turnovers. Utah got 11 points off 18 Portland turnovers. ... Blazers reserve Bonzi Wells scored 15 of his 17 points in the garbage-time fourth. ... Jazz reserve guard Howard Eisley is just 7-for-31 in Utah's last five playoff games.