Amare' Punches Miami's Ticket To The Next Round

MIAMI — It wasn’t just the Heat, it was the stupidity.

Amar’e Stoudemire may have literally punched the Miami Heat’s ticket to the second round after the Knicks’ power forward, in a show of frustration and selfishness, suffered a lacerated left hand during a postgame tirade immediately following the Heat’s 104-94 Game 2 victory Monday night.

A Knicks official confirmed that Stoudemire had cut his non-shooting hand when he punched a small glass door that protects a fire extinguisher just outside the Knicks’ locker room. Stoudemire’s hand shattered the pane and he needed an undetermined number of stitches to close the wound.
Stoudemire later offered an apology via Twitter, apparently in a one-handed tweet:

@Amareisreal "I am so mad at myself right now, I want to apologize to the fans and my team, not proud of my actions, headed home for a new start."

He did not comment as he exited the arena with his girlfriend and one of his children.

Tyson Chandler said that Stoudemire was “out” for Game 3, and it is unlikely he  will play for the rest of the series. Stoudemire’s hand was heavily bandaged and his arm was placed in a sling.

The Knicks will host the Heat in Game 3 Thursday at the Garden.

“It’s far from over,” Carmelo Anthony said after the Knicks matched an NBA record with their 12th straight playoff loss. “We believe that and I believe that.”

Anthony, standing on the blood- stained carpet inside the Knicks’ locker room, pleaded ignorance when asked about the Stoudemire incident. It’s unclear if Stoudemire was upset over the Knicks being in a 0-2 hole to the Heat or the fact that he took nine shots in 41 minutes, making six, while Anthony took 26 shots in 45 minutes, making 12.

“I don’t know what happened, to be honest with you,” Anthony said. “I haven’t seen him.”

The scene outside the Knicks locker room and near the team bus was chaotic, beginning with paramedics being called to treat Stoudemire. Most of the players exited through a back door while the injured forward snaked his way out of a side exit and underneath the seats and toward the bus.

When members of the media tried to intercept Stoudemire, arena security and some team officials began screaming for unauthorized personnel to leave the area.

Mike Woodson, who had announced before the game that the team would practice on Tuesday, canceled the workout.

Woodson and the Knicks are facing an almost impossible task with Stoudemire likely finished for the series. The Knicks are already without rookie guard Iman Shumpert, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Game 1 and will be sidelined for the next six to eight months, and Jeremy Lin, who is coming off knee surgery.

With Shumpert, one of the league’s top perimeter defenders, unavailable, Dwyane Wade scored 25 points on 11-for-18 shooting. Chris Bosh added 21 while LeBron James finished with 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Miami’s much-maligned supporting cast also played well, with Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller and Shane Battier combining for 35 points. For the second straight game, the Heat never trailed in the second half.

Meanwhile, Anthony scored 30 points,  including 15 in the first quarter. He spent most of the final three quarters missing shots and looking frustrated with Miami’s aggressive defense.

Anthony and Stoudemire lost their sixth straight playoff game with the Knicks and the notion that they cannot succeed together is gaining momentum. The Knicks have had a losing record with both players in the lineup since the day Anthony was acquired from Denver last season.

Coincidentally, the Knicks have been better with Anthony playing power forward, which is where he would now play assuming that Stoudemire is unavailable.

“Amar’e is a huge piece to this team,” Chandler said. “Without him, it’ll make it more difficult. We already lost one player in the starting lineup. That’s two players out of the starting lineup. It makes it tougher.”

Stoudemire finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, including 12 points in the second half. He took six shots over the final two quarters compared to eight for Anthony.

If Stoudemire is frustrated, that is understandable. He’s been injured for much of the season and recently returned from a back injury that the Knicks originally feared would cost him the season.

And yet, for him to lose control of his emotions at such a critical point of the season will not go over well with the fans or Garden chairman James Dolan, who has not seen the Knicks win a playoff game since April 29, 2001. The club’s 12-game postseason losing streak matches the NBA record set by the Memphis Grizzlies.

“Your emotions run high,” said Chandler, trying to sound diplomatic. “In a split second, a decision can alter things. You can’t fault anybody. We’ve got to deal with the repercussions."