Amare Stoudemire Likely to Miss Game 3, Could Face Suspension after Punching Fire Extinguisher Glass Following Knicks Loss to Heat

Just when it looked like things couldn't get any worse for the Knicks, they did.

New York has fallen into a 2-0 series hole against Miami in the first round of the playoffs, and could be without Amare Stoudemire for the rest of the series. After the Knicks lost Game 2 on Monday night, Stoudemire punched a glass casing that contained a fire extinguisher. The forward suffered lacerations on his left hand and had to get stitches.

Stoudemire is officially listed as uncertain for Game 3, but a source tells ESPNNewYork.com that Stoudemire is almost certain to miss the next game, and could be out for the rest of the series.

The Knicks star left the arena with his arm in a sling, and reports say the area where the incident occurred was full of blood.

Even if Stoudemire is healthy enough to play, there's a chance he could face disciplinary action from his own team. Knicks owner James Dolan has been known to suspend players for inflicting injuries upon themselves. According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Dolan once suspended former Knick Latrell Sprewell for coming to training camp with a broken hand.

It's not likely that Stoudemire would suffer the same fate, but many feel it would actually help the Knicks chances against the Heat. New York played even better this season with Stoudemire on the bench, going 14-5 this season without him.

If he's unable to go in Game 3, this would be the second straight year that Stoudemire has missed playoff action because of a self-inflicted injury. He was unable to play in the second half of the Knicks second playoff game last season. Stoudemire suffered back spasms after trying to perform a trick dunk in before the game.

The Knicks forward apologized for his actions on twitter early Tuesday morning.

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, he tweeted. We all have done thing out of anger that we regret. That makes us human. Bad timing on my part. Sorry guys. This to shall pass.

Add Stoudemire to a long list of injuries the Knicks are trying to overcome. They lost rookie Iman Shumpert in Game 1 to a torn ACL, and point guard Jeremy Lin is unlikely to play this series after undergoing knee surgery a month ago.

Game 3 between the Knicks and Heat is set for Thursday in New York.