Amare Stoudemire

“Fans actually think I had a closed fist and punched through a glass door,’’ Stoudemire said. “They have wrong perception of what actually happened. I walked by and swung my arm backwards. It hit the fire extinguisher door and I slashed my hand a little bit by accident. I understand their frustrations right now. I’m frustrated with myself as well.’’

Asked what triggered the incident, Stoudemire said, “We’re down 0-2 and I knew how important it was to get a win in Miami. We played somewhat well enough to win Game 2. I was more frustrated we were down 0-2. It wasn’t as if I was trying to take out the fire extinguisher door. I wanted to make noise and let out some frustration.’’

Stoudemire said many players let out their frustrations in similar ways. “It happens all the time,’’ Stoudemire said. “Some players kick over ice coolers. Some players tip over a table. Some players even hit a chair. My thing was to hit a wall and I sliced my hand.’’ …

“I just walked by the door and it’s made of 85 percent metal and two percent glass, a strip of glass,’’ Stoudemire said. “I didn’t try to hit the glass at all. I just walked by and I didn’t see the strip of glass.’’

– Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post