D'Antoni looks for way around Heat's Big 3
Heat guard Dwyane Wade drives against the New York Knicks at American Airlines Arena, Tuesday. (Dec. 28, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
MIAMI - LeBron James had a triple-double with 32 points and Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each chipped in with 26 when the Knicks faced the Heat on Dec. 17. But Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said Tuesday he wasn't going to place too much emphasis on shutting down the three stars.
"If we knew how to limit them, they wouldn't be LeBron or Dwyane Wade," D'Antoni said. "They get what they get. That's what they average. What you try to do is not put them on the foul line and try to make it hard for them."
Though the Knicks didn't intend to allow the trio to score at will, they were more focused on beating Miami in other areas of the game.
"You just have to beat them other ways," D'Antoni said. "You have to shoot the ball well, defend as best you can and not give up turnovers in transition. If we do that, we'll have a good chance of beating them."
Tuckered out by halftime
Danilo Gallinari had 25 points in that Dec. 17 game, but the forward did most of his damage in the first half. The Knicks went into halftime tied at 57 before Miami pulled away in the second half. In last night's rematch, D'Antoni believed his team needed a boost of energy after the intermission to have a chance of pulling off an upset win on the road.
"I just thought that he got tired," D'Antoni said of Gallinari. "I thought our whole team got tired in the second half. Give Miami credit, obviously their defense is great and they played well. But I thought in the second half we settled for shots, we didn't move the ball and kind of did what we did the next night in Cleveland. We played tired and you can't do that against Miami."
Knicks vs. Heat history
A little over a decade ago, the Knicks and Heat had one of the top rivalries in the NBA. A lot has changed since the days of Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston, but most have not forgotten those meetings between Eastern Conference foes. However, D'Antoni does not fall in the majority when it comes to reminiscing about the rivalry.
"I was in Europe. I was sitting around eating pasta and having a good time," D'Antoni joked. "There was a great shot, I heard, because Allan tells me every day."
