"The New York Knicks might be a mess but there's still life in the old rivalry with the Miami Heat.

There were no brawls Friday night, nothing reminiscent of P.J. Brown's slam of Charlie Ward or Alonzo Mourning's fistfight against Larry Johnson. And former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy was broadcasting the game rather than attaching himself to Mourning's leg like a rabid Yorkie.

Pat Riley must have rolled his eyes at the 53 three-point shot attempts and the lack of bruising defense.

Despite all the water under the bridge since the late 1990s, Heat-Knicks still delivers great entertainment. This one was close until the Heat blazed ahead in the last five minutes to win 99-89.

Dwyane Wade was back with a vengeance and Carmelo Anthony was out with injuries, giving the game blowout potential. The Knicks arrived having lost seven of their past eight games. Miami had easily beaten such opponents as San Antonio, the Lakers and Philadelphia without Wade.

But the Knicks' 18 three-pointers — seven by Bill Walker — kept the score tight. In the end, the Heat intensified its defense and capitalized on seven Knicks turnovers in the fourth quarter. Wade came off the bench to thrash home an alley-oop pass from LeBron James and the Knicks were back to the drawing board."