Porzingis, Knicks slip past Heat
MIAMI -- Kristaps Porzingis scored 22 points as the New York Knicks played spoilers, defeating the Miami Heat 98-94 on Friday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Heat guard Goran Dragic missed what would have been a score-tying layup with 6.6 seconds left, and Hassan Whiteside was called for offensive basket interference.
The Heat (37-39) have lost in three attempts to reach .500 this season, with losses to the Portland Trail Blazers on March 19 and to the Toronto Raptors four nights later. All three losses were at home.
Miami is 26-9 since the halfway point of the season, making up for an 11-30 start. But the Heat's loss on Friday kept them in a virtual tie with the Indiana Pacers for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Miami is in seventh due to a tiebreaker, and Indiana is eighth.
Courtney Lee added 20 points for New York (29-47), which is out of the playoffs for the fourth straight year. The Knicks are 3-9 in their past 12 games.
Miami was powered by Dragic, who had 22 points. Whiteside had 17 points and 16 rebounds.
The Knicks, off to a 15-4 start four minutes into the contest, held on to a slim 33-29 lead at the end of the first quarter. Lee had 10 of New York's points in the quarter, including a steal for a layup at the buzzer.
New York led 59-55 at halftime as the Knicks shot 50 percent from the floor for the first 24 minutes. The Knicks also had a 30-20 paint-points advantage in the first half.
Miami won the third quarter but still trailed 77-75. The Heat outscored the Knicks in the paint 14-8 in the quarter.
The score was tied at 90 when New York went on a 6-0 run. The Knicks held on from there, barely.
NOTES: Knicks SF Carmelo Anthony (back) and PG Derrick Rose (knee) sat out. ... Heat SG Dion Waiters (left ankle) missed his seventh straight game and has not yet been cleared to run. ... Heat C Hassan Whiteside's tip-in to beat the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday was Miami's first game-winning buzzer-beater in eight years, which had been the longest active drought in the NBA. Dwyane Wade had the last Miami buzzer-beating winner, in 2009. ... Since the 2000-2001 season, the Knicks have won just one playoff series, which is tied with the New Orleans Pelicans for the fewest among any NBA franchise.