Jeremy Lin might finally be in a bit over his head. For once, he looks very much off the pace and he's struggling mightily. The good news for the New York Knicks is that they're getting second-chance points off of offensive rebounds, while Steve Novak can't miss from outside. The Miami Heat are pushing the pace in transition and playing great defense, but only lead 51-47 at halftime.
Amar'e Stoudemire and Lin have six turnovers each, though Stoudemire's redeemed himself with three rebounds and 11 points. Lin has just two points and two assists, and those assists came on the first two Knicks buckets. Though it would be easy to blame the Knicks' struggles so far on Lin, Carmelo Anthony was just as big of a problem until the very end of the quarter. He's only 3-10 from the floor, and was 1-8 until the dying seconds. He hit two jumpers in the last minute, including a buzzer-beater at the end of the second quarter.
Even though the Knicks are struggling offensively outside of Stoudemire and Novak, they're only down by four points. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have missed some close-range shots and haven't made the most of the 15 turnovers that the Heat have forced.
With the shot clock running down in the last minute of the second quarter, Mario Chalmers drained a three with just under eight seconds remaining. Anthony's answer should give the Knicks some confidence in his shooting and themselves going into the locker room.
For more on the two teams, check out New York Knicks blog Posting And Toasting and Miami Heat blog Peninsula Is Mightier.