In his first regular-season game since March 8, Dwyane Wade had 26 points, seven rebounds and nine assists as the Heat lost 120-115 to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in Erik Spoelstra's coaching debut.

Wade fouled out with 1:25 left when he tried to block Jamal Crawford's 3-point attempt after Miami (0-1) had trimmed a 21-point, fourth-quarter deficit to six.

"I've been on a team like this before and I understand when it goes well, it can go well," said Wade, who sat out the final 21 games in 2007-08 to rest his surgically repaired left knee. "And I also know when it goes bad, it can go bad, from last season. So just trying to figure out our identity."

The Heat's identity now includes Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. They became the franchise's first rookie duo to start an opening-night game since Oct. 28, 2003, when Wade and Udonis Haslem did against Philadelphia.

Beasley made 4-of-14 shots and finished with nine points and four rebounds, while Chalmers had 17 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

Daequan Cook, whose third-year option was picked up by Miami on Tuesday, hit three 3-pointers and scored all 13 of his points in the final 4:09 - his third from long range cut New York's lead to 118-115 with 13 seconds left.

"We started the game so slow," said Beasley, the No. 2 overall pick. "By the time we woke up, it was too late."

Haslem had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Shawn Marion added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Miami, which opened 0-5 last season en route to a 15-67 finish.

Reggie Theus, who begins his second season coaching Sacramento, witnessed a similar comeback on Wednesday before his team lost 98-96 at Minnesota. With the Kings (0-1) trailing 95-86 with 3:40 left, John Salmons scored six points and Kevin Martin and Beno Udrih each hit a pair of free throws during a 10-2 Sacramento run over the next 2:38. But Martin missed a 3-pointer with two seconds left and Salmons' put-back was off at the buzzer.

"We're proud that we hung in there," said Salmons, who had 24 points and eight rebounds. "We never gave up, we kept fighting. That's an encouraging thing. Definitely built some character today."

Martin - the Kings' leading scorer last season (23.7) - missed 14 of 19 shots and scored 17.

"If Kevin has any type of game at all, we beat this team by 10," Theus said.

Spencer Hawes had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and rookie Jason Thompson scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

"I thought Jason Thompson played extremely well, made a few mistakes defensively, but overall played big, like big guys are supposed to do down around the basket," Theus said.

Sacramento and Miami split two meetings last season, each winning on its home court. Marion scored 24 to lead seven players in double figures as the Heat defeated the Kings 107-86 on Feb. 26 in Miami.