NBA schedule: Heat rally past Pacers in Eastern battle

It took two overtimes and an incredibly sloppy performance by one of the league’s worst squads, but the Knicks won for the third time in five games on Wednesday.

Nothing Smith did in this one compares to Bargnani’s gaffe in the first overtime, though. When the Knicks had a chance to put this thing away in the final seconds of that initial OT period, Bargnani went all gunslinger on his teammates. You see, he’s a shooter’s shooter, and that means launching up ill-advised jumpers -- even when you could totally get two free throws just by standing there:

(The Knicks started saying “#KnicksTape” last season, and it became the standard post-win exclamation, like a much lamer “Roll Tide”. Of course, the Knicks won 54 games last year, none of them in double overtime against the league’s worst team.)

(Knicks fans also said damn.)

Even without Tony Parker, who’s currently sitting out due to a shin injury, San Antonio found guys to step up and finish a close game on the road. It’s the latest testament to Gregg Popovich’s system and its ability to withstand minor injuries in the rotation.

Ginobili finished with a season-high 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He also added seven assists and six rebounds in the win. Duncan, meanwhile, recorded 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in 31 minutes.

The New York Knicks have become unstuck in time.

The other night, the team of which I am a fan made some of the most baffling time-related basketball decisions I’ve ever seen, which, luckily, were summed up by Seth Rosenthal at Posting and Toasting. Read what he wrote, but suffice it to say: it was pretty mystifying.

Continuing a brutal road trip for New Orleans, the team plays red-hot Portland on Saturday after visiting the Clippers on Wednesday.

In 16 games this season, Davis has averaged 18.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.6 blocks, 1.6 assists and 1.6 steals a night. His 28.18 PER -- which only marginally weighs defensive contributions, a place where Davis thrives -- ranks among the best in the league.

For the Pacers, this likely comes as an especially painful loss. Despite being without Hibbert for most of the game -- he recorded his fifth foul after just 17 minutes of game time -- the team’s collapse actually came with its defensive anchor on the court.

Leading, 84-78, the Pacers brought Hibbert back into the game to put things away, and for the first couple minutes afterwards, it appeared that would happen. But with the Miami offense gaining momentum in front of an excited home crowd, the Pacers needed to match with some offensive execution of their own.

But, hey -- this is cool. LeBron later apologized to Chalmers on the bench, and tweeted a public apology after the game. Leadership!

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