Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks: Keys to a Knicks Victory over Miami

The New York Knicks face the Miami Heat one final time in the regular season at 1 p.m. ET today. 

The Knicks were dealt a 102-88 loss when the teams last met on February 23, and they are looking to avenge that defeat in a crucial game.

Here are three keys to a Knicks victory.

Defense

The Knicks defense has been given life since Mike D’Antoni resigned on March 14. Interim head coach Mike Woodson has preached defense to the entire squad, and it has paid dividends.

The team has given up just under 89 points per game with Woodson at the helm, a stark contrast to what was done under the D’Antoni regime.

Rookie Iman Shumpert has made a name for himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, no more so than when he gave reigning MVP Derrick Rose fits at Madison Square Garden on Easter Sunday.

Shumpert sprained his right ankle in the team’s victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday, but plans to play.

He will likely be given the task of guarding Dwyane Wade, who missed Friday’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats with a sprained right ankle of his own.

With Shumpert guarding Wade, Carmelo Anthony will be called on to limit the effectiveness of LeBron James. For a guy with such a bad defensive reputation, Anthony has stepped up lately, and has a history of playing lockdown man-to-man defense against premier players in the league.

The Heat play some pretty good defense as well, but have lost defensive struggles against the Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics.

If the Knicks can limit the Heat to just 89 points, they should have no problem winning their 10^th consecutive home game.

Tyson Chandler

The last time these two teams met, Chandler had a largely unproductive day, accumulating just 10 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes.

Not only did Chandler post a weak output, Chris Bosh scored 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting.

Chandler has been the Knicks' MVP on defense this year, and possibly the Defensive MVP of the entire league. Even when he’s not in the game, you can hear him barking out commands from the bench, telling the players on the floor where to position themselves.

He’s also become the master of the tap-out. Five or six times a game he punches a rebound out to the perimeter on the offensive end. He doesn’t get a rebound for it, but some kind of stat needs to be kept for that.

He basically won the game against the Bulls on Easter, with multiple tap-outs on the Knicks’ final possessions of regulation and overtime.

The Knicks will be relying heavily on Chandler to shut down Bosh, as well as pull down double-digit rebounds.

Carmelo Anthony

Anthony has found a second wind under Woodson, which is a testament to how much the superstar disliked playing under D’Antoni.

Melo has been hounding his counterparts on the defensive side of the ball, excelling at stripping the ball below the waist near the hoop.

Whenever Melo plays James, he kicks it up a notch on the defensive side of the ball. The Knicks will need him to do just that if they want to further solidify their playoff position.

The Knicks superstar has found his offensive groove, averaging 30 points at a 50 percent clip thus far into April. On Easter Sunday, he looked like he was having more fun than he has ever had in a Knicks uniform, screaming, “This is my house,” after hitting his game-winning three-pointer.

For the Knicks to improve their record to 14-4 under Woodson, they’ll need Anthony to play some of the best basketball he has all season.