Porzingis, Lee help the Knicks steal a win against old rivals

Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose were rested last night but that didn’t stopped the rest of team to take this game as serious as they could in spite of having the playoff chances destroyed by the same opponent two nights ago.

A post shared by New York Knicks 🏀 (@nyknicks) on Mar 31, 2017 at 7:05pm PDT

Veteran gurd Sasha Vujacic got his first start of the season after playing just 16 games this season for 5 minutes or more. On Friday night, Vujacic played 36 minutes, scored 9 points and dished 7 assists in  Knicks’ 98-94 win against Miami at the AmericanAirilines Arena.

Ron Baker was even a better asset as the starting point guard and scored 10 points delivering 6 assists while showing leadership without any pressure on his shoulders.

The Heat led only once throughout the game (75-74), late in the 3rd quarter after cutting an 8 point deficit and although they tied the game several times they weren’t able to stop the Knicks stealing the win.

They got very close in the closing minute when they got to just two points behind after the Knicks missed on three straight possessions. Goran Dragic attacked the rim, missed the layup and Hassan Whiteside was called for basket interference after the referees reviewed it.

Kristaps Porzingis and Courtney Lee combined 42 points while rookie Willy Hernangomez had 10 buckets and 12 boards.

“They kind of punk’d us the first game. We came out with a different mentality, playing strong, defense the whole game and offensively we shared the ball. It was the defense that made us win the game.”

– Kristaps Porzingis

Justin Holiday came off the bench and nailed 12 points.