Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Heat wallop Knicks
Kelly Olynyk has 22 points, 10 assists in rout of New York.
MIAMI — Sometimes there is no need for double-overtime theatrics. Sometimes there is no need for team-record offense. Sometimes there is no need for anyone to score career highs.
Because sometimes you get to play the New York Knicks.
Against an opponent already eliminated from playoff contention, the Miami Heat took care of business as needed with a 119-98 victory Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
In the wake of Monday’s 149-141 doubleovertime victory against the Denver Nuggets that set a franchise scoring record and featured a career-high 31-point performance by James Johnson, the Heat pushed their lead to 21 in the second period and moved from there to their sixth consecutive home victory.
With the win, the Heat maintained their hold on the No. 7 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, paced by 22 points from Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Johnson. Olynyk added 10 assists, without a turnover.
For the Knicks, it was a familiar story to Heat followers — Michael Beasley scored and his team lost. This time, the former Heat first-round pick closed with 22 points as New York’s two-game winning streak came to a close, with Knicks center Enes Kanter adding 23 points and 13 rebounds.
The ante now will be raised significantly, with the Heat going out on a two-game trip Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Sunday against the Indiana Pacers, before returning home Tuesday against Le-
“We’ve not been focusing on teams or teams’ records but more on ourselves.” James Johnson
Bron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James Johnson, who this time wasn’t needed for his offense, said the opponent has become secondary for the Heat.
“We’ve not been focusing on teams or teams’ records but more on ourselves,” he said before the game, “and our communication has been getting better like that.”
The victory came with the Heat less than whole. The Heat again were without Hassan Whiteside and Dwyane Wade, again opening with Bam Adebayo at center, James Johnson and Josh Richardson at forward, and Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson at guard.
The Knicks opened with a pair of familiar faces in their starting lineup, with Heat 2008 first-round pick Beasley starting at power forward and Tim Hardaway Jr., son of the former Heat guard, opening at small forward.
The fourth quarter was mostly mop-up duty, allowing coach Erik Spoelstra to rest most of his starters for the challenges ahead.
The Knicks trimmed what had been a 21-point Heat lead to nine midway through the third quarter before a pair of Tyler Johnson 3-pointers pushed the Heat lead back to 15.
The Heat then went into the fourth quarter up 99-77.
During that third quarter, Wayne Ellington converted a 3-pointer to become the third player in the franchise’s 30 seasons with at least 200 in a season, following Tim Hardaway and Damon Jones.
The Heat put together a 15-2 run to open the second period to move to a 42-28 lead, later pushing their lead to 21 in the quarter before going into halftime up 64-47.
Beasley was up to 20 points at that stage, even stopping to shake the hand of Heat owner Micky Arison during one scramble for a loose ball.
The Heat closed the first quarter on a 14-7 run to take a 27-26 lead into the second period. Beasley was at 10 points for the Knicks at that stage.
It was the third game of the four-game season series, with the teams also to meet April 6 at Madison Square Garden, in the Heat’s final road game of the regular season.
The Heat entered 1-1 against the Knicks. New York won the first meeting 115-86 Nov. 29 at the Garden, shooting .603 from the field despite an early game injury that sidelined forward Kristaps Porzingis, a game played in the injury absence of Whiteside. The Heat then defeated the Knicks 107-103 in overtime at AmericanAirlines Arena on Jan. 5, with Wayne Ellington sparking the Heat with six 3-pointers.
The Heat entered just 3-4 against the Knicks in the teams’ previous seven meetings, with losses in three of the previous four meetings at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The game came after a five-game homestand for the Knicks, who were coming off Monday’s 110-92 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks entered 2-9 in their previous 11.
The Knick remained without Porzingis (knee), with Joakim Noah not with the team.