Heat vs. Knicks: New York Proves It Is Ready for Postseason Pressure

There are plenty of reasons to believe the Miami Heat's 93-85 victory on Sunday is a harbinger of things to come for the New York Knicks.

Miami picked up a solid road win despite struggling away from home over the last month and settling for a 17-13 away record on the season.

Meanwhile, New York had its nine-game home winning streak snapped.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were predictably dominant, with 29 and 28 points respectively. Even Chris Bosh chimed in according to script with 16 points and 14 boards. Perhaps most importantly, the Heat were able to withstand a 42-point barrage from Carmelo Anthony, playing an otherwise stiff defensive game.

For those already anointing this team a dynasty, none of this comes as a surprise. It's more of the same for a team that should beat the Knicks, according to most accounts.

The bigger surprise is that the New York Knicks actually hung around in this game, continuing to play like a first-rate Eastern Conference contender despite missing Amar'e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin.

Sure, the Knicks definitely need to find an additional source of scoring. After a prolific night from the field, Anthony got just two buckets in the fourth quarter and found himself stymied by LeBron James' defense.

And yes, New York may still be too much of a work in progress to make much noise come playoff time.

In short, the doubters have plenty of reason to doubt, even if Mike Woodson's young tenure as the Knicks' coach has been nothing short of outstanding.

The doubts can only go so far, though, and there's plenty of silver lining to Sunday afternoon's loss.

Carmelo's fourth-quarter decline notwithstanding, any time a guy puts up 39 points on the Miami Heat through three quarters, your team has reason to hope.

Moreover, it's hard to believe the rest of the Knicks will struggle as much as they did Sunday.  Outside of Carmelo Anthony and the usually efficient Tyson Chandler, the rest of the team shot just 13-of-41.

With Amar'e Stoudemire on his way back sooner rather than later, the Knicks will soon have that additional scoring option to take some of the pressure off Anthony.

Chemistry concerns notwithstanding, New York needs the fire power. With Anthony having recently established himself as the Knicks' undisputed leader, there's no longer any question where Stoudemire will fall in line.

It wouldn't be at all surprising to see Anthony spend more minutes at power forward to spread the floor and allow him the chance to exploit matchups with slower defenders. That may mean Stoudemire plays fewer minutes (or perhaps some time at center), but it's the kind of adjustment that could maximize the value of two lethal scorers.

It's hard to imagine that Stoudemire couldn't make the difference in a close game with the Heat. If Miami has a discernible defensive weakness, it's on the interior.

Heat fans will readily accept that this game (and Miami's season sweep of the Knicks) are proof positive that the Knicks couldn't hang with their team in a seven-game series, with or without Stoudemire.

However, those fans should remember the constant flux this Knicks team has gone through, and they should remember Sunday's game featured a slim, two-point differential at halftime. That's hardly a compelling statement.

If these teams butt heads in the first round of the postseason, New York should have a better shot than most think.