The sad reality for the Knicks: Amare Stoudemire administered far more damage to his hand — and an AmericanAirlines fire extinguisher — than his Knicks have done to the Heat so far in this playoff series.
As if falling down 0-2 against the Heat wasn’t discouraging enough, Stoudemire made matters worse after the game when he sustained a lacerated left hand when he took out his frustrations on a glass enclosure around a fire extinguisher in the hallway outside the visitors’ locker room.
Doctors and paramedics were summoned, but Stoudemire was not taken to the hospital, according to the Knicks. J.R. Smith said Stoudemire required stitches. Stoudemire was seen leaving the arena with his hand bandaged and his arm in a sling.
When reporters were allowed into the locker room after a much longer than usual 35-minute wait, there were drops of blood on a hallway inside.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson and players would not say how Stoudemire was injured, and Woodson said he’s not sure how serious the injury is.
But center Tyson Chandler said, “I just know he has a laceration and he is probably going to be out.
“You can’t fault anybody because Amare is a good person that has high emotions at times. One quick decision-making mistake, and now you’ve got to deal with repercussions.’’
Stoudemire said on Twitter after the game: "I am so mad at myself right now. I want to apologize to the fans and my team. Not proud of my actions, headed home for a fresh start."
New York forward Carmelo Anthony — who said he knew nothing about Stoudemire’s injury — did his part Monday, rebounding from a brutal Game 1 (11 points, 3-for-15 shooting) to produce 30 points and nine rebounds in Game 2.
Anthony was brilliant offensively in a 21-point first half but couldn’t replicate that in the second half, mustering only nine points after intermission.
He didn’t get nearly enough support from many of his teammates, as New York suffering the ignominious feat of equaling the NBA record for consecutive playoff losses, with 12.
The Memphis Grizzlies set the record from 2004 to 2006.
The Heat flummoxed Anthony in Game 1 by often fronting him, denying him the ball at times, and sometimes sending over a second defender.
New York countered that in Game 2 by running more pick-and-rolls (some involving Stoudemire) and by having Anthony often initiate offense on the perimeter. Unlike in Game 1, many of Anthony’s shots came off the dribble.
That approach worked in the first half, with Anthony shooting 9 of 18 from the field. At one point, Anthony nailed three consecutive jumpers over Shane Battier.
Anthony shot 1 for 5 in the third quarter, missing three jumpers. In the fourth quarter, he shot 2 for 3 and scored six points.
“I missed some shots,” Anthony said. “They weren’t going to allow me to score 40 or 50.”
Anthony insisted “the series is still up in the air. It’s their home court. It’s our turn now. We can’t wait to get back and protect home court. We’ve got to keep everybody positive. It’s far from over.”
• Chandler told Woodson he was feeling “great” after being hindered by the flu in Game 1. “I was just like a zombie out there [Saturday].”
Chandler, who went scoreless in 21 minutes Saturday, was more energetic in Game 2, closing with 13 points and seven rebounds. But in the center matchup, Chris Bosh had the better offensive game (21 points) Tuesday.
• Point guard Baron Davis (stiff back) started but said he wasn’t close to 100 percent. He had 12 points and six assists.
• Landry Fields replaced injured Iman Shumpert as New York’s starting shooting guard and could neither slow Dwyane Wade nor contribute much offensively. Wade called Fields one of the best cutters in the league. Fields scored two points, missing four of five shots.
