Knicks 97, Heat 92
MIAMI (AP) -- Pat Riley made a lot more noise in his postgame tirade than the struggling Miami Heat have all season.
``I've had it!'' Riley said about the officiating in Miami's 97-92 loss to New York Knicks on Friday night. ``The officials' hatred for me is absolutely unjust for what it does to my players.``
The Miami coach was unhappy with calls against his team and the disparity in free-throw attempts. The Knicks were 30-for-37 from the line, while the Heat were 13-of-16.
``I think a lot of it, simply is their dislike for me, over the years,'' Riley said. ``I saw one thing -- yes, I saw the Knicks playing well -- but I saw my team getting screwed, and it breaks their heart.
``You play that hard and you keep seeing them throw 37 or 38 free throws, you get outscored 10, 12 points from the line, it's a joke. It's an absolute joke!''
The game was officiated by the youthful crew of Michael Smith, Pat Fraher and Mike Callahan.
Latrell Sprewell scored a season-high 30 points and Knicks shot an astounding 92 percent in the second quarter. Sprewell shot 10-of-20 from the field and 9-of-11 from the line. Charlie Ward added 14 points and Allan Houston 13.
``There's not much guys can do to stop you when you're in that type of rhythm,'' Sprewell said. ``I usually play well down here. I don't know why.''
Brian Grant's dunk pulled the Heat within a point with 1:15 remaining, but Ward put the Knicks back up by four with a 3-pointer and the Knicks held on for their first win in seven games this season against Atlantic Division opponents.
Heat players were upset with the possession call that gave the Knicks the ball for Ward's 3-pointer.
``We had the ball go off Kurt Thomas, and we didn't get the break. It was a missed call, they busted a 3, and it kind of the took the air out of us,'' Grant said.
``This is one of the toughest games our guards played going to the hole, but they didn't go to the line.''
``It takes a toll on you,'' said Eddie Jones. ``You get upset when an official makes a bad call, but you have to regroup and make something else happen.''
The Knicks' 61 first-half points on 68.8 percent shooting were the most points given up by the Heat in either half this season, and the highest first-half shooting percentage against the Heat in franchise history.
``I like the way we gutted it out tonight,'' Knicks coach Don Chaney said, praising Sprewell. ``He came out ready to play. He was focused during shootaround, and I like the carryover.''
The Knicks' second-quarter 92.3 shooting percentage was the best ever against the Heat in any quarter.
The Heat were able to rally from a 13-point deficit late in the third quarter, going on a 19-6 run to pull within a point with 8:37 remaining. The comeback came as Houston spent more than 12 minutes on the bench in foul trouble.
Jones led the Heat with 23 points, and was one of five Heat players to scoremore than 12 points.
Notes
The Knicks are 42-20 against the Heat, but Miami has won seven of the last 11 games at home. ``There was a great rivalry here,'' said Riley, who also coached the Knicks from 1991-95. ``But the last couple of years have been very hard for all of us. From a basketball standpoint, we've fallen on hard times.'' ... Houston went over 12,000 career points with a 3-pointer in the second quarter. ... The Heat placed G Eddie House on the injured list with a bone injury in his right leg, and activated C Ken Johnson, who has missed all buttwo games with tendinitis in his left knee.
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