Miami Heat forward LeBron James leaves the court after defeating the New York Knicks 106-94 in an NBA basketball game in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Wednesday, May 9, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Joe Thornton set the tone for the San Jose Sharks with a dominant…
MIAMI (AP) — This is the matchup Chris Bosh wanted in the Eastern Conference finals.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Mike Conley wouldn't let Zach Randolph take the blame for the Memphis …
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tony Parker had 20 points and nine assists, Kawhi Leonard scored 18 …
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana spent the entire season perfecting its defense.
Updated: Thursday, 10 May 2012, 9:54 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 10 May 2012, 9:54 AM EDT
MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade both scored 19 points and Miami beat New York 106-94 on Wednesday nigh to win the Eastern Conference first-round series in five games.
The Heat will meet Indiana in the East semifinals starting Sunday in Miami.
Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points for the Knicks, including a jumper at the end of the third quarter that pulled New York within 81-67.
Amare Stoudemire scored 14 points, Landry Fields and J.R. Smith both added 12 and Tyson Chandler grabbed 11 rebounds for New York.
Stoudemire fouled out with 4:48 left, and the Knicks cut the lead to 11 points four times in a 2-minute span. Miami answered every time, the last of those a 3-pointer by Shane Battier with 54 seconds left.
The last time New York advanced in the postseason came at Miami's expense in the East semifinals in 2000.
GRIZZLIES 92, CLIPPERS 80
Marc Gasol scored 23 points and Zach Randolph added 19 as Memphis avoided elimination and forced a Game 6 in the Western Conference first-round series.
Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
Rudy Gay added 14 points for Memphis.
Mo Williams had 20 points for the Clippers while Chris Paul scored 19 and Blake Griffin had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Paul and Griffin both missed time in the fourth quarter with injuries.
Paul strained his right hip flexor and appeared to jam a finger while Griffin hyperextended his left knee.
Memphis, which blew a 27-point lead in Game 1, was up 24 with 3 minutes left in the third quarter. Randy Foye pulled the Clippers within 85-79 on a layup with 55.7 seconds left but that was as close as they would get.
The Grizzlies outscored Los Angeles 48-26 in the paint and had a 42-35 edge in rebounds.
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