Field Level Media
Mar 21, 2018
The Miami Heat's high-flying offense continued to rise on Wednesday, soaring to a 119-98 win over the visiting New York Knicks at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Tyler Johnson and Kelly Olynyk led Miami with 22 points each, with Olynyk adding a career-high 10 assists. Wayne Ellington had 16 points, Justise Winslow 15, Goran Dragic 14 and Josh Richardson 12.
Miami was 15-for-34 from behind the 3-point arc and received 62 points from its bench. The Knicks' reserves scored 28 points.
The Heat won for the ninth time in their past 10 home games, including six straight, and improved to 22-13 in Miami.
The Heat, seventh in the Eastern Conference playoff race, have averaged 115 points per game since the All-Star break. They scored a franchise-record 149 in their double-overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
Enes Kanter had game highs with 23 points and 13 rebounds for New York. Michael Beasley had 22 points, Trey Burke added 16 and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 12.
The Knicks, who won home games against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday and the Chicago Bulls on Monday, saw their two-game winning streak snapped. New York lost nine consecutive games prior to the brief winning stretch.
New York fell to 8-29 on the road.
The Knicks are 3-14 since star forward Kristaps Porzingis was lost for the season with a knee injury sustained on Feb. 6.
Beasley and Kanter combined for 18 of the Knicks' 26 points in the first quarter, but the Heat battled back and held a 27-26 lead after Ellington made the team's first 3-pointer.
The Heat took control with a 15-2 run to open a 42-28 edge in the second quarter.
Miami played a fast-breaking game and shot 58 percent from the floor in the half to lead by as many as 21. The Heat were up 64-47 at the break, as their bench outscored New York's 34-7.
The Knicks cut their deficit to 72-63 on Hardaway Jr.'s 3-pointer five minutes into the third quarter.
However, Miami rebuilt a healthy lead and held a 99-77 advantage behind 63 percent shooting as the quarter ended.
New York outscored Miami 21-20 as the teams emptied their benches in the final quarter.
For the game, the Heat outshot the Knicks from the floor 55.6 percent to 43.8 percent.
--Field Level Media