Drops of blood stained the carpet leading up to the back entrance of the New York Knicks' locker room. The glass portion of a nearby fire-extinguisher case was quickly replaced. And Amare Stoudemire needed doctors and paramedics to treat a postgame cut on his left hand.

Game 2 probably wasn't all the Knicks lost in Miami on Monday night.

Stoudemire left the building with a bulky wrap over his left hand, long after the Heat took control of the teams' Eastern Conference first-round series with a 104-94 win over the Knicks, going up 2-0 in the matchup.

It resumes Thursday in New York, and although the Knicks were saying nothing for certain, it seems most unlikely that Stoudemire would be able to play.

"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 new start," Stoudemire wrote on Twitter after the Knicks left the arena.

"I really don't know what's the situation with that," said Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, who added he was "on the court" when whatever happened with Stoudemire occurred.

Knicks center Tyson Chandler said he did not expect Stoudemire to play Game 3. An update from the Knicks said, "Extent of injury is unknown at this time."

Dwyane Wade scored 25 points, Chris Bosh added 21 and LeBron James finished with 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Heat, but their night was completely overshadowed by whatever went on with Stoudemire in the hallway that's just a few steps from the edge of the court.

"You never want to hear anyone gets hurt," Wade said. "Hopefully he gets better. We want all their guns on the court."

Everything the Heat did seemed like old news quickly after the game, when all anyone really wanted to talk about was what was going on in the Knicks' locker room. Miami-Dade paramedics - who staff every game - were summoned while reporters were kept outside much longer than the typical 10-minute cooling-off period.

"We're all frustrated," Chandler said.

Stoudemire declined to say anything when he walked out of the shower area in the locker room, one towel around his waist, another shielding his left hand, which he held elevated as he slipped into the privacy of the training room, which is off-limits to basically everyone but team personnel.

Almost forgotten: Miami had just sent New York to its NBA-record-equaling 12th straight postseason loss.

"This is a series," Chandler said. "We've got to go home, win the next two and turn into a best-of-three after that."

Anthony scored 30 points on 12-for-26 shooting for New York, which got 18 points from Stoudemire and 13 apiece from Chandler and J.R. Smith. The only other team to lose 12 straight playoff games is the Memphis Grizzlies, who dropped their first dozen postseason contests from 2004 through 2006.

New York's last postseason win came April 29, 2001.

(China Daily 05/02/2012 page24)