Mr. Big Shot

New York might have a Big Three of their own.

Chanucey Billups lived up to his nickname Sunday night in Miami.

In a night when most were watching the 83rd Academy Awards in Los Angeles, the story was in South Beach. Billups fueled a 9-2 run late in the fourth quarter, hitting a deep three-point jump shot in front of Dwayne Wade with a minute to go in regulation, giving the New York Knicks a 85-84 lead.

The Knicks would go up 87-86 with just about ten seconds to go when LeBron James drove to the hoop, getting by defender Carmelo Anthony, which looked to be an open lane to the basketball. That was until Amar'e Stoudemire came on the help defense to block the shot away.

After two successful free throws from New York, James shot the potential game-tying three as time expired, only to see it hit the back of the iron and hand the Miami Heat their sixth loss at home this season.

However, the real story was Billups, coming up with two steals and five big points in the closing minutes to seal a Knick victory. Billups was being said to be a throw in with the Anthony deal made earlier this week.

Billups has done his best to prove the critics wrong, averaging 21 points in the three games since becoming a Knick. Billups is a 13-year veteran in the NBA and a former Finals MVP. The fact of the matter is Billups knows how to win and slow the game down when the pressure is at its highest peak, something you can't teach.

New York is now 2-1 since the trade and looking to build on a win, where they came back from as many as fifteen down against the East's elite.

Miami is now only 14-15 against teams .500 or better and has dropped to 5-11 in games decided by five points or fewer. This could pose a problem for the Heat down the stretch and well into the postseason. It felt like a playoff game atmosphere in Miami tonight, giving us reason to believe that this could very well be a fun matchup in a month and a half.

Miami is still the fourth best team in the NBA and only a half game behind the idol Boston Celtics for the best record in the Eastern Conference, but on this night the story was "Mr. Big Shot". And now, the new-look Knicks have a Big Three of their own to be reckoned with.