Heat 102, Knicks 88
HEAT 102, KNICKS 88: LeBron James collected 20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and five steals as Miami had little trouble stopping “Linsanity” in cruising to its eighth straight win and dropping New York back below .500.
Dwyane Wade scored 22 points but had his 11-game streak of shooting 50 percent or better end with a 10-for-22 performance. Chris Bosh added 25 points and eight boards for the Heat, who head into the All-Star break with the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Miami shut down Jeremy Lin, who had his worst game since becoming a regular. The Harvard product finished with eight points on 1-for-11 shooting and committed eight turnovers against three assists.
The teams started out trading transition opportunities, with James and Wade hooking up on a series of highlight-worthy crosscourt passes for layups.
The Knicks managed to keep pace until the third quarter, when Miami closed with a 12-4 burst to push it to double digits. James scored six points during that surge.
A 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter put the game away.
Carmelo Anthony led New York with 19 points.
GAME NOTEBOOK: New York G Baron Davis went 0 for 7 from the field in 14 minutes. He is 1 for 12 in three games since returning to the lineup … Miami has won each of its last eight games by at least 12 points … The Knicks committed 19 turnovers.