NEW YORK, – LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 57 points to help the Miami Heat overcome the New York Knicks 93-85 yesterday in a possible preview for the NBA playoffs.
James, who scored 29 points, and Wade, who poured in 28, teamed up down the stretch to turn a 79-75 fourth-quarter deficit into an 87-80 lead with a 12-1 Miami run that lifted the Heat to a 42-17 record.
Despite 42 points from Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks dropped to 31-29 and back to eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings with six regular season games to go.
If the Knicks finish seventh, they could play the second-placed Heat in the first round of the playoffs, although they may prefer not.
Miami, also boosted by Chris Bosh’s 16 points and game-leading 14 rebounds, completed a three-game sweep of their season series with the Knicks and would have home-court advantage for the best of seven series .
