Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) and New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin (17) chase down a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
MIAMI — New York’s Jeremy Lin had by far the worst game of his remarkable NBA emergence as the Knicks were beaten 102-88 by the Miami Heat on Thursday.
Chris Bosh scored 25 points and Dwyane Wade added 22 for Miami, which notched its eighth straight win and goes to the All-Star break with the NBA’s best record (27-7).
The Heat countered Lin with a tactic of running streams of defenders at him. The point guard went 1 for 11 from the field, with eight points and three assists — a far cry from the 23.9 points and 9.2 assists he had been averaging over his first 11 games in the Knicks’ rotation, when he breathed life into a team that was floundering.
On Thursday, he simply wasn’t the same player, turning the ball over eight times.
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HAWKS 83, MAGIC 78
In Atlanta, Josh Smith scored 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to help Atlanta snap a three-game skid with an win over Orlando.
Jannero Pargo added 15 points for the Hawks, who led by only a point with 4:42 left but finished the stronger.
J.J. Redick finished with 13 points for the Magic, who had won six of seven going in.