Anthony scores 50 as Knicks beat Heat 102-90

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.

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.

Chris Bosh scored 23 points for Miami, which played without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers, all held out with injuries that are not believed to be serious.

The Knicks beat the Heat in three of their four regular-season matchups. 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.

AP