LUPICA: LBJ AND CO. SHOW KNICKS CAN'T COMPETE



The loss was the Knicks' NBA record 13th straight in the postseason, dating back to 2001. More important, they trail the best-of-seven series 3-0, and no team in league history has ever advanced after dropping the first three games of a playoff series. Game 4 is Sunday, and the Knicks are not expected to have either Stoudemire or Jeremy Lin available.



"We believe," Anthony said. "We're not moping around and hanging our heads. I won't allow our guys to do that."



PHOTOS: KNICKS GO COLD VS. HEAT IN GAME 3



The Heat sucked the life out of Madison Square Garden and crushed the Knicks' collective spirit with a defensive showing in the second half that was championship-worthy. And they did it behind LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who combined to outscore the Knicks 34-30 over the final two quarters.



"Our bad offense," J.R. Smith said, "created bad transition defense."



If the Knicks were ever going to make it a series, Game 3 was their chance. Neither LeBron nor Wade brought his A-game for the better part of three quarters. Plus, the Knicks held an 11-point second quarter lead.



But with Anthony unable to find openings and/or knock down shots against the Heat for the third straight game, the Knicks lacked the offensive firepower to keep pace. Anthony scored a team-high 22 points but he did it by missing 16 of 23 shots. He's shooting 22-for-64 in the series.



"I wouldn't say they shut me down," said Anthony, who is 0-7 in playoff games with the Knicks. "I am missing shots that I would normally make. I am not worried about that. Do they make it tougher? Yeah . . . their defensive scheme is to stop me. They are basically making it hard on me out there."



Anthony, mostly defended by James and Shane Battier, said he heard the Heat bench yelling "keep beating him up" during the second half. And with players given more room to be aggressive in the playoffs, it was a sound strategy, especially with the Knicks missing three starters.



Lin, who has been out since late March following knee surgery, says he won't return for Game 4. Iman Shumpert suffered a major knee injury in the second half of Game 1 and won't play again for at least another six months. Stoudemire's self-inflicted injury probably buried the Knicks for good.



Stoudemire needed surgery to repair his left hand after he suffered a deep cut when he punched a glass case used to protect a fire extinguisher following the Knicks' Game 2 loss. When Stoudemire missed 13 games late in the regular season with a back injury, the Knicks went 9-4. But that was with Shumpert in the lineup.



For Game 3, Mike Woodson started Steve Novak, hoping that Novak's pinpoint shooting would open up the court. But with Miami refusing to allow Novak to take open shots, he failed to score in 22 minutes and took just two shots.



Smith, the Knicks' energetic sixth man, scored 12 but missed 13 of 18 shots. Tyson Chandler scored 10, while the starting backcourt of Landry Fields and Baron Davis scored nine and seven points, respectively, but combined for just two points in the second half.



"Their defense was awfully good," Woodson said. "Offensively, we just didn't have it. I have to take the heat for that."



Incredibly, the Knicks led 40-29 with 1:44 remaining in the first half — only to be outscored 58-30 the rest of the way, including a 7-0 Miami run to end the second quarter. Then with James on the bench with seven turnovers and four fouls with 7:23 left in the third, Wade scored 12 as Miami closed the period on a 16-14 run.



And then it all ended in the fourth with a rested and focused James ready for the kill. He buried his first shot, a3-pointer, and scored eight quick points to push the lead to 10. The Knicks never got closer than seven as Mario Chalmers hit two big threes and James ended up outscoring Woodson's team 17-14 in the final period.



The crowd, which had chanted derogatory words at James and even called him "overrated," slowly began to empty out in the closing minutes. Once again, James had bloodied the Knicks without even throwing a punch. That's how the great ones do it.



"We came into a hostile environment against a team that has been playing some great ball," said James, who scored 32 points in his first career playoff game at MSG. "We won. . . . That is all that matters to me."