Associated Press
Associated Press
MIAMI — Carmelo Anthony tied his career high with 50 points and the New York Knicks won their ninth straight game, topping the injury-depleted Miami Heat 102-90 on Wednesday night.
“I felt good tonight,” Anthony said.
Anthony finished 18 of 26 from the field, reaching 50 on a jumper with 16.9 seconds remaining. J.R. Smith scored 14 and Raymond Felton added 10 for New York.
“I think just from the start of the game, it’s a feeling that you just have while you’re out there on the court,” Anthony said. “Sometimes you get off to a good start and then you get cold the rest of the game, but tonight wasn’t one of those cases.”
Chris Bosh scored 23 points for Miami, which played without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers, all held out with injuries not believed to be serious. Mike Miller scored 18, Ray Allen finished with 16 and Norris Cole had 14 for the Heat, whose 17-game home winning streak was snapped.
Miami’s magic number for clinching home-court throughout the NBA playoffs remained at five, and the Heat already have the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference wrapped up. The Knicks now lead Brooklyn by five games in the race for the Atlantic Division title.
WIZARDS 90
BULLS 86
WASHINGTON — John Wall had 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Emeka Okafor scored the go-ahead dunk in the final minute and Washington beat Chicago for its eighth straight home win.
Wall was 8 for 17 from the field and 11 for 13 at the free throw line as the Wizards maintained pursuit of their goal of becoming the best team not to make the playoffs. Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who fell two games behind the fourth-place Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference. Chicago visits Brooklyn on Thursday.
LAKERS 101, MAVS 81
LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his 19th career triple-double, and Los Angeles beat Dallas in a key game for two teams struggling to get into the Western Conference playoff picture.
Dwight Howard had 24 points and 12 rebounds while hitting seven fourth-quarter free throws for the Lakers (39-36), who had lost four of six. With former coach Phil Jackson in attendance for Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey retirement, the Lakers moved back into an eighth-place tie in the West with the Utah Jazz (39-36), who hold the tiebreaker edge on the Lakers.
Chris Kaman had 14 points for Dallas (36-38), which has a game in hand on the Lakers and Jazz.