Heat to take on Pacers in next round MIAMI – The Miami Heat hammered the final nail into the injury-ravaged New York Knicks' coffin with a 106-94 win to clinch their place in the second round of the NBA playoffs, while the Grizzlies avoided elimination by beating the Clippers 92-80 in Memphis. Missing Iman Shumpert, Baron Davis and Jeremy Lin through injury, while Amar'e Stoudemire played with a badly cut hand, the Knicks had staved off elimination Sunday but could not repeat the feat in Game Five in Miami. After Sunday's loss, when Dwyane Wade missed a three-pointer on the final possession that would have closed out the series, the Heat were determined not to give the Knicks a sniff of hope Wednesday. LeBron James scored 29 points while Wade netted 19 as the Heat wrapped up the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series 4-1 to set up a second-round matchup with Indiana. “We came out with a lot of intensity,” James said. “We tried to get as many stops as possible and we were able to do that.” James went 13-of-15 from the free throw line and had eight rebounds and seven assists. “They do an unbelievable job,” James said of the Pacers. “They are very well coached. They play inside out. They control the paint and have some great perimeter players. “We will savor this win tonight, but then get to work tomorrow and get ready for Indiana.” Mario Chalmers chipped in 10 points for the Heat, who are trying to reach the NBA finals for the second consecutive year. Carmelo Anthony, who scored 41 points in Game Four, scored 35 to lead the seventh-seeded Knicks. But J.R. Smith shot just three-of-15 from the field. Star forward Amare Stoudemire ended with 14 points, but he became frustrated near the end of the game and fouled out. “It's really a shame the injuries they went through,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Nobody wants to see it. We want to play teams at their best. We were able to persevere.” “They made plays coming back the other way,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “That's what great teams do.” In the Western Conference, the Grizzlies flirted with another second-half collapse but regained control to beat the Clippers and narrow the series deficit to 3-2. The Grizzlies saw a 24-point third-quarter lead trimmed to six midway through the fourth, bringing back memories of their series-opening defeat when they blew a lead of 27. “It brought back bad memories in the back of our heads,” Marc Gasol told reporters. “We did a better job of executing, got rebounds and made some free throws,” added Gasol, who had 23 points while Zach Randolph scored 19. The frustrated Clippers team accrued five technical fouls and Chris Paul sat out for the final minute with an aggravated groin issue. Paul finished with 19 points and Mo Williams led the visitors with 20 off the bench. Game Six is Friday in Los Angeles. History is on the Clippers' side as only eight NBA teams have rallied to win a series after trailing 3-1 with the most recent being Phoenix who came back to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006.
