MIAMI, February 28- The New York Knicks posted their first big win since acquiring Carmelo Anthony in a three-team blockbuster trade, beating the Miami Heat 91-86 Sunday at American Airlines Arena.
Anthony finished with 29 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks who looked like a playoff team Sunday after a disappointing loss two nights ago to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers.
"Games like this are fun," Anthony said. "It brings the best out of everybody."
Amare Stoudemire added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Chauncey Billups had 16 points for the Knicks, who battled back from a 15-point first-half deficit.
New York now has two wins and one loss since the megatrade with the Denver Nuggets that brought Anthony and Billups to New York.
LeBron James led Miami with 27 points. Chris Bosh added 20 points and 12 boards and Dwyane Wade finished with 12 points for Miami who had won seven consecutive games at home.
"I don’t think we played badly," Bosh said. "I think we controlled the whole game. We had control of the game. We just didn’t execute down the stretch."
The Knicks went into the second half with the lead after going on a 16-0 run at the end of the second quarter.
Both teams struggled in the third quarter as Miami had seven turnovers and New York had six turnovers.
Anthony and Stoudemire combined for 13 points in the third quarter but no other Knicks scored.
Stoudemire blocked a James’ layup attempt with seven seconds left in the fourth after Billups put the Knicks in front for good with a three point shot with just 61 seconds left.
James also missed a three pointer in the closing moments.
"There’s a reason we keep losing these close games," Wade said. "So we’ve got to figure it out."
Miami is now even with Chicago in the loss column with 17 losses each. The Heat dropped a half-game behind Boston for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
