Heat Vs. Knicks: Dwyane Wade Scores 40 To Hold Off Knicks 106-98

Dwyane Wade poured in a season-high 40 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the Miami Heat held off the New York Knicks 106-98.

With the score tied at 11 early on, Miami put together a 15-2 run to create some distance. Zydrunas Ilgauskas tallied six points during the burst, capped by a LeBron James layup and three-pointer to make it 26-13 with 3:36 to go in the first quarter.

The Heat ripped off another eight straight points moments later to take a 34-15 lead after Mario Chalmers' three-pointer. At the end of the first quarter, Miami held a commanding 34-18 lead. Miami held a 53-40 margin at the half, and took an 80-65 lead into the fourth.

Trailing by 11 in the fourth quarter, the Knicks used a 10-2 run to make things interesting. Amar'e Stoudemire's tip-in and Raymond Felton's free throw after a technical foul made it a 97-94 contest with two minutes remaining.

Wade finally stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer to give the Heat a 99-94 lead. Landry Fields tried to answer after drawing a foul on a three-pointer, but Fields made just one of three from the foul line to make it 100-95 with 1:35 to go. LeBron James sealed the win moments later with a layup to put the game out of reach.

James and Chris Bosh each tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who have won three in a row and 15 of 16 overall. Ilgauskas added 14 points and 10 boards in the win.

Stoudemire finished with 30 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks, who have dropped four of their last six. Stoudemire has now scored 20 or more points in 16 straight games, the Knicks' longest such streak since Patrick Ewing's 17 consecutive games from January 8 to February 6, 1994.

Wilson Chandler finished with 21 points and six rebounds for New York. Felton added 15 points and five assists in the loss.