NEW YORK — LeBron James alternated fouls and fumbles, the crowd howling in delight with every one of his mistakes.
Finally forced to sit for most of the third quarter, James wasn't mad, and the Heat was not worried.
"We had the lead going into the fourth quarter on the road, and then we had the best player in the game coming in. So we were fine," Dwyane Wade said.
James scored 32, including eight straight to start the fourth quarter and break open the game, and the Heat took a 3-0 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series lead, sending the Knicks to an NBA postseason-record 13th straight loss, 87-70 Thursday.
"He had some turnovers, he had some mistakes but he was able to keep his head in it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
James had 17 points in the final period, and the Heat held the Knicks to eight field goals in the second half.
"My mind-set was to make plays for our team to try and help us win down the stretch," James said. "I was able to come in and make some plays to help us win."
Teammate Chris Bosh had nine points and 10 rebounds hours after flying in from Miami after the birth of his first child.
Carmelo Anthony scored 22 for the Knicks, who broke the record set by Memphis (2004-06). New York hasn't won a playoff game since April 29, 2001.
MIAMI (87): Haslem 1-2 0-0 2, James 9-21 12-13 32, Bosh 3-5 2-3 9, Chalmers 7-11 0-0 19, Wade 8-17 2-3 20, Miller 1-5 1-2 4, Battier 0-6 0-0 0, J.Anthony 0-0 0-0 0, Cole 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-1 1-1 1. Totals 29-68 18-22 87.
NEW YORK (70): C.Anthony 7-23 7-9 22, Novak 0-2 0-0 0, Chandler 2-6 6-10 10, Davis 2-5 3-3 7, Fields 3-8 2-2 9, Smith 5-18 2-2 12, Bibby 2-4 2-3 8, Jeffries 0-0 0-0 0, Harrellson 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 22-69 22-29 70.
Miami 19 17 22 29— 87
New York 19 21 16 14— 70
3-Point Goals—Miami 11-29 (Chalmers 5-8, Wade 2-5, James 2-5, Bosh 1-1, Miller 1-4, Battier 0-6), New York 4-20 (Bibby 2-4, Fields 1-3, C.Anthony 1-4, Novak 0-1, Davis 0-3, Smith 0-5). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Miami 48 (Bosh 10), New York 49 (Chandler 15). Assists—Miami 11 (James 5), New York 8 (Davis 3). Total Fouls—Miami 21, New York 21. Technicals—C.Anthony, New York three second 3. A—19,763.
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