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Anthony guides Knicks past Heat

Jan 10, 2014 - 5:04 AM New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - After his latest trouble, J.R. Smith was benched by head coach Mike Woodson and stood away from team huddles during timeouts.

The New York Knicks didn't seem to miss him.

Carmelo Anthony had 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Knicks defeated the Miami Heat 102-92 on Thursday night.

Returning from a six-game absence due to a groin injury, Raymond Felton tallied 13 points, 14 assists and five rebounds for New York, which has won a season-high three straight and four of its last five tilts.

Smith was fined $50,000 by the NBA Wednesday for recurring instances of unsportsmanlike conduct. Smith was warned by the league after untying the shoelace of Dallas forward Shawn Marion during a free-throw attempt Sunday. He repeated the same action Tuesday in a game against Detroit.

"I didn't know anything about it," Smith said of being benched.

Woodson had no comment about the benching after the game.

"Not going to comment on J.R., just talk about the game," Woodson said.

LeBron James netted 32 points to go with six assists and five rebounds for the Heat, who had won five of their last six coming in. Dwyane Wade registered 23 points in defeat.

"They played great. They made some timely shots," James said. "I thought Raymond (Felton) played great defense and did a good job of putting those guys in positions to succeed."

The Knicks shot 63.2 percent and outscored Miami 59-44 in the second half.

The Heat led 69-66 late in the third quarter before New York embarked on a 16-2 run that bridged into the final frame.

The surge was highlighted by Tim Hardaway Jr.'s putback dunk. Amare Stoudemire missed a right elbow jumper, but Hardaway flew in along the weak side and leapt over Ray Allen before completing the dunk with a one-handed finish.

His slam with nine seconds left in the third staked New York a 75-69 edge, but James' driving layup right before the horn cut the gap to 75-71 heading into the fourth.

Andrea Bargnani had seven points during the swing, which was capped on a Stoudemire layup for an 82-71 New York lead with 9:34 left.

Allen's four-point play along the left wing capped an 8-2 Miami spurt to pull the Heat within 84-79 with 7:25 remaining, but Iman Shumpert nailed a 3- pointer at the other end and a Felton pull-up jumper a few possessions later extended the Knicks' advantage to 90-81 midway through the stanza.

Miami never got closer than six again.

James' alley-oop layup at the first-quarter buzzer finished off a 7-0 Miami burst and gave the visitors a 27-21 margin after 12 minutes.

The Heat led 48-43 at the break.

Game Notes

Bargnani had 19 points, while Stoudemire chipped in with 14 points and 11 rebounds ... The Knicks shot 53.7 percent (44-of-82) from the floor ... The Knicks scored 19 points on 15 Miami turnovers.