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Wade drops 40 as Heat top Knicks

Dec 29, 2010 - 6:24 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - 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.

LeBron 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. Zydrunas Ilgauskas donated 14 points and 10 boards.

"I was just mixing it up," Wade said. "I was being aggressive and going to the basket but also looking for my outside shot. I think my teammates did a good job especially in the fourth of looking for me."

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

Wilson Chandler ended with 21 points and six rebounds for New York, which got 15 points and five assists from Raymond Felton.

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

The Heat ripped off eight straight points moments later to take a 34-15 lead on Mario Chalmers' trey. It was 34-18 after 12 minutes of play.

Miami held a 53-40 margin at the half, and took an 80-65 lead into the fourth.

Trailing by 11, 95-84, the Knicks used a 10-2 run to make things interesting. Stoudemire's tip-in followed by Felton's technical free throw made it a 97-94 contest with two minutes remaining.

Wade stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer at the other end. Landry Fields was then fouled by Wade from beyond the arc, but Fields made just 1- of-3 from the foul line to make it 100-95 with 1:35 to go.

James made a driving layup to seal the victory.

"They started the game hot. They played with a lot of energy and were aggressive," Stoudemire said. "We started off slow, but we gave a lot more energy in the second half."

Game Notes

Miami has won seven in a row against the Knicks...The Heat improved to 13-4 at home this season...Miami is now 14-1 in December, which ties the team mark of 14 wins established in 2004.