Ice Cold Shooting Dooms Knicks vs. Heat

Danilo Gallinari couldn’t buy a bucket during the preseason after Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni boldly called him the best shooter he’s ever seen. Gallinari, whose expectations were higher than anyone else in the organization, shot just 31 percent and averaged 7.3 points through seven exhibition contests.

Maybe he was just saving his shot for the regular season.

Gallinari, playing his first regular-season game since March 15, scored a career-high 22 points in the Knicks’ 115-93 loss to the Heat in their regular-season opener on Wednesday night. He finished the night shooting 7-for-13 from 3-point range after struggling in the first half, looking like a veteran along the way.

Gallinari, who missed his first three shots and five of his seven attempts in the first half, continued to pull the trigger after halftime and eventually watched his shot fall. He said the difference between his play in the second half was his “mindset of shooting,” which clearly changed because the Knicks needed his 3-pointers to get back into the game.

After a first half that saw eight lead changes and seven ties, the Knicks fell behind nine at halftime and by as many as 31 in the second half. The threat of Gallinari knocking down 3-pointers was the only reason the Heat stuck with their starters through most of the fourth quarter in a game that looked to be out of reach for the Knicks.

“He needs to play because he can erupt for four or five straight threes,” D’Antoni said. “We need bench scoring.”

When training camp opened earlier this month, Gallinari was running mostly with the starters and even started in the second preseason game. But his conditioning wasn’t quite where it needed to be as he continued his recovery from last season’s back surgery, and he was placed in a reserve role.

“I’m not disappointed,” he said before the game. “My job is to be ready from the bench.”

Other than Gallinari, the Knicks struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 25.6 percent as a team, and looked their best offensively when going inside early on. David Lee (22 points) and Al Harrington (15) seemed unstoppable under the basket in the first half.

Once their offense stalled, however, their defense followed suit as the Knicks couldn’t stop the Heat. Eventually, the game got away from them.

“We had a breakdown defensively.” Harrington said. “We let our offense affect our defense. When we stopped making shots, we hung our heads and didn’t have the same energy defensively. We were getting scored on and not scoring on the other end.”

Added Chris Duhon, “When a team shoots almost 60 percent, I don’t care how well we shoot the ball, we are not going to win many games.”

While it's always disappointing to lose on opening night, they realize it is only one single game in the course a marathon season.

“I thought we were going to win 82,” D’Antoni joked, “but now it’s only 81. We’ll get over it.”

The Knicks now look to continue to find their range and play better defensively when they visit the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday before returning to The Garden for their Home Opener on Saturday night.

Game Notes: Darko Milicic, who made two hook shots in the first quarter, injured his knee late in the game. "It's fine," he said. "I'll live."... Tim Hardaway's No. 10 jersey was retired by the Heat during a pregame ceremony. The tip off was scheduled for 7:30, but the game didn't officially begin until about 8:15. ... Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 26 points, while Jermaine O'Neal added 22. ... Wilson Chandler scored 21 for the Knicks. .. The Knicks had 17 fastbreak point to the Heat's 13.