Final Score: Heat 86, Knicks 79

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but: The Knicks fought. They clawed at rebounds, they dove on the floor, they stomped and shouted and snarled. In a return from back injury, Carmelo Anthony persevered through whatever stiffness he felt and posted a gritty if inefficient 31 points. Amar'e Stoudemire busted his ass after grumbling about how the Knicks weren't busting their asses, which was great.

But as is their wont, the Knicks couldn't string together important stops, and when they finally approached the surface, they found new ways to sink.

Derek Fisher played a funky rotation, but managed to find workers, if not anyone able to deter Dwyane Wade from shredding nets and baiting contact. An uneven distribution of backcourt minutes couldn't stir up any production-- no guard could slow Wade with any regularity, and no guard could hit most of his shots. Seriously, not one.

At some point, it would be nice to notch a win, just for morale, but losses work, too. Full recap notes coming later.