Heat get payback with 30-point win over Spurs

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The photo above was taken 10 days ago during the Miami Heat's 125-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs amid Miami's well-covered losing streak that put a dark cloud over everything regarding the Heat.

How time changes things.

Having just beaten the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, the Heat won its third consecutive game with a 30-point triumph of its own, beating the Spurs at the AmericanAirlines Arena on Monday night. The 110-80 win didn't only serve as retribution for Miami for the embarrassment suffered in San Antonio on March 4 as it also reminded NBA fans, coaches and players just how good this Heat team can be.

Bolstered by performances from Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat put forth one of its most complete games of the season. Wade and Bosh led the offense, scoring 29 and 30 points, respectively. LeBron James also chipped in with 21 points as 10 of the 11 Heat players to see the court scored (Mike Bibby was the one who did not).

What may have been more impressive than the offensive effort put forth by Miami was the defensive domination over the Spurs. The Heat played intense defense throughout, keeping sharpshooter Manu Ginobili to 12 points and Tim Duncan to 14.

Duncan, especially, got a taste of how bad Miami wanted this one as the much-smaller Wade stepped up, leaped in the air and blocked two shots in the paint.

That pair of plays might have highlighted just how badly the Heat wanted payback, but they also helped show that Miami is still a serious contender.

Help possibly on the way for Miami

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If there was something made obvious in the Miami Heat's loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday, it was that LeBron James and co. lack a playmaking point guard. While Chauncey Billups was busy finding his teammates for easy shots and hitting long-range three-pointers, Mario Chalmers was missing layups.

That lack of a point guard able to help the Big Three in the waning moments of games may be over as the Heat are close to acquiring Mike Bibby, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Bibby, who was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Washington Wizards last week, is leaning towards joining Miami after agreeing to a buyout with Washington on Monday. He gave up his $6.2 million salary with the hopes of latching on to a contender.

Bibby would be an upgrade over Chalmers and never-seeing-the-court Carlos Arroyo. Although the addition of Bibby won't solve Miami's lack of defense from the point guard position, he would add a much-needed offensive orchestrator to Miami's lineup, one that can help create shots while also making his share of them. Yes, that includes layups.

Heat fall to new-look Knicks, 91-86

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Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks, 1. Miami Heat, 0.

The Heat lost at home to the new-look Knicks on Sunday, 91-86, in a game that once again will raise questions about Miami's ability to beat the more talented teams.

Dwyane Wade scored just 12 points, Chris Bosh faded as the game wore on and LeBron James missed a pair of potentially game-altering shots with seconds remaining in the game. Making all those type of performances worse was that the loss came to a New York team still figuring out how to play together after the big Carmelo Anthony trade reshaped the Knicks' roster.

Anthony scored 29 points in the game and Chauncey Billups and Amar'e Stoudemire added 16 a piece. Perhaps no points were bigger than when Billups scored off a long three to give New York the lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

That shot put Miami in a hole, and one it could not crawl out of. James tried to hit a layup, but was brilliantly blocked by Stoudemire. On the following possession, James bricked off a three-point attempt, essentially ending the first meeting between the Heat and the new-look Knicks.

Knicks win Anthony sweepstakes via three-team trade

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It looks like the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics aren't the only big dogs in the Eastern Conference anymore.

According to multiple reports, the New York Knicks acquired Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony in a three-team trade late on Monday night. The other team involved in the trade was the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In the trade, the Knicks not only got one of the best players in the league to pair with fellow All Star Amare Stoudemire, but also experienced point guard Chauncey Billups. Guard Anthony Carter and forwards Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Brewer and Shelden Williams were also shipped to New York, as was a second-round pick from Minnesota.

Denver reportedly received center Timofey Mozgov, forwards Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, point guard Raymond Felton and the Knicks' first-round pick in 2014 and second-round picks in the 2012 and 2013 drafts that originally belonged to the Golden State Warriors.

The Timberwolves got center Eddy Curry, power forward Anthony Randolph and $3 million in the deal.

New York Knicks fans won't have to wait long to see Anthony suited up in their team's colors as he could play as soon as Wednesday night against Milwaukee or Friday versus Cleveland.

Anthony, Stoudemire and the new-look Knicks will then have an opportunity to make even more headlines as they face LeBron James and the rest of the Miami Heat's star-studded cast on Sunday, February 27.

New York won't play Boston until March 31.

Jones wins three-point contest

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Finally, the Heat have beaten the Celtics.

Miami fans now have some ammunition for their trash-talking arsenals as forward James Jones knocked off Boston's duo of Ray Allen and Paul Pierce to win the 2011 three-point competition on Saturday night.

Jones became the latest Heat player to claim that competition by scoring 20 points in the finals, besting Allen's 15 and Pierce's 12. Jones, a University of Miami graduate, joined Jason Kapono, Daequan Cook and Glen Rice as Heat players to win the contest.

Having prepared little for the event in Los Angeles, Jones scored 15 points in the first round before making four out of five shots on every rack in the finals.

Jones' win doesn't affect the league standings, but it will help Heat fans whose psyches have been affected from three losses in three games to Boston this season.

So, for at least one day, Miami fans can thank Jones for being able to say that their team came out on top over Boston's.

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Here is video of the final round of the three-point contest along with a brief interview with Jones following his memorable victory:

Breaking down the Heat's loss to the Celtics

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Once again, Dwyane Wade struggled. Once again, Miami turned the ball over like it was a fad going out of style. Once again, Miami lost to Boston.

For the third time this season, the Heat fell prey to the Celtics, losing 85-82 at TD Garden on Sunday afternoon. The loss broke Miami's eight-game winning streak, and more importantly, gave Boston a half-a-game advantage for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

But what exactly went wrong for the Heat? Despite the tight scoreline, quite a bit actually. From allowing a 35-point quarter to missing crucial shots, Miami once again made critical errors as it was bested by a Boston team that can officially be labeled the Heat's 'daddy'.

Here are some reasons as to why Miami is still winless against Boston this season:

Miami has no answer for Rondo

If Rajon Rondo was a thorn in the Heat's side before the game, he's now their kryptonite. Rondo not only got himself a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but he also proved to be a tough defender to beat for James.

Rondo obviously couldn't go pound for pound with James, but his speed and tenacity harassed the Miami Heat star to the point that James had to settle to backing down Rondo from the perimeter on multiple occasions. This defensive match-up proved a troubling one for Miami, and was part of the reason why Chris Bosh saw the offense run through him in the Heat's comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.

Boston continues to have Wade's number

As was the case in the other two meetings this season, Dwyane Wade had a rather pedestrian performance against the Celtics. He scored 16 points, but it came on on a night where he shot 6-17. Wade also committed six ugly turnovers, a chunk of which came during the second quarter in a stretch that forced head coach Erik Spoelstra to call a timeout.

Third quarter collapse

Miami began the game well, holding the hosts to 15 points in the opening quarter and just 39 in the first half. But when the third quarter opened so too did Miami's defense, which conceded 35 points. The Heat only scored 18 points that quarter, which made the margin for their comeback effort even larger.

Missed shots, missed opportunities

With 12 seconds left, LeBron James had a chance to tie the game with two free throws. He missed the first. Having to foul the Celtics to prevent the game from ending, Miami had one more chance to salvage a third loss to Boston after Glen Davis converted his pair of shots from the charity stripe. Mike Miller got an open look from the top of the perimeter, but the three-point specialist missed the shot, giving the Celtics the victory.

James and Miller's misses were undoubtedly costly ones, but that Miami shot 3-16 from downtown was as much a contributing factor to the loss as any.

Ouch

Which was worse? Christina Aguilera's botch of the national anthem at the Super Bowl on Sunday, or the high kick Karim Benzema received from Hernanes in France's 1-0 win over Brazil on Wednesday?

You decide.

I'm taking the Aguilera botch by a smidge.