MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James decided not to play in New York two summers ago. He won’t be playing there any more this season, either.
The Knicks have been put away, and the Miami Heat are headed to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
James had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade both scored 19 points and the Heat ousted the Knicks 106-94 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first-round series Wednesday night.
Miami won the series 4-1, and will meet Indiana in the East semifinals starting Sunday in Miami.
“We will savor this win tonight,” James said. “And then we get to work tomorrow and get ready for Indiana.”
Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points for the Knicks, including a spinning jumper over James at the end of the third quarter that pulled New York within 81-67.
It wasn’t enough to stave off an all-too-familiar playoff result for Anthony, who was chosen two spots behind James and immediately ahead of Bosh and Wade in the 2003 NBA draft. Anthony has been in 11 postseason series, winning just two, the won-lost record of his teams in those games a mere 17-37.
Amare Stoudemire scored 14 points before fouling out, Landry Fields and J.R. Smith both scored 12 and Tyson Chandler grabbed 11 rebounds for New York.
Stoudemire fouled out with 4:48 left, and the Knicks put together one more run with hopes of saving the season. New York cut the margin to 11 points four times in a two-minute span, and Miami answered every time, the last of those a 3-pointer by Shane Battier with 54 seconds left.