Wade lifts Heat over Knicks with career-high 55 points

Opponents tend to melt when they get close to the Heat's Dwyane Wade. The Knicks were no different last night. Wade torched the Knicks and put up a career high 55- points at American Airlines Arena. Fifty of his 55 came before the fourth quarter.

Wade fell just one point shy of the franchise record as the Heat wrapped up the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating the New York Knicks 122-105 on Sunday night.

Add the second-best scoring show in Heat history to the list of reasons why Wade deserves a few MVP votes.

Wade shot 19-for-30 from the field, set a career high with six 3-pointers, and nearly topped Glen Rice's record of 56 points before leaving with 1:06 remaining.

Michael Beasley finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat, who also got 15 points from Mario Chalmers.

Everything Wade shot seemed like it went in, even a behind-the-backboard attempt midway through the third quarter during a stoppage after a foul. It swished, didn't count, and the crowd cheered anyway. Wade now has six of the eight highest-scoring games in Heat history, four of them this season.

A performance like this is definitely one that deserves MVP talk but Wade is humble about it all. When asked about his name in the MVP race Wade paid tribute to LeBron and Kobe and the great job they are doing. But he also thanked the Heat organization for backing his MVP candidacy all the way.

Wade's MVP candidacy is so important to the Heat that the franchise took the step - rare for them - of campaigning for the award. Last week, the team sent out a promotional DVD to postseason award voters.

Now, it's already outdated. This might have been the best show of the season.

New Orleans 102, Dallas 92
Cleveland 107, Boston 76
Miami 122, New York 105
Toronto 111, Philadelphia 104
San Antonio 95, Sacramento 92
L.A. Lakers 92, Memphis 75

• Dwyane Wade, Heat, scored 55 points, one shy of the franchise record, and Miami wrapped up the No. 5 spot in the Eastern playoffs by beating New York 122-105.

• LeBron James, Cavaliers, made five 3-pointers and scored 29 points, helping Cleveland improve to 39-1 at home with a 107-76 rout of Boston.

• Chris Paul, Hornets, narrowly missed his seventh triple-double this season with 31 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds, and New Orleans defeated Dallas 102-92.

• David West, Hornets, added 31 points to help New Orleans move a game ahead of Dallas in the West standings.

• Tony Parker, Spurs, had 25 points and nine assists for San Antonio, which moved into a tie with Houston atop the Southwest Division with two games left by beating Sacramento 95-92.

• Pau Gasol, Lakers, often matched against his brother Marc in the middle, scored 12 points and had 13 rebounds in Los Angeles' 92-75 rout of Memphis.

The Cleveland Cavaliers throttled NBA champion Boston 107-76 to move within one win of matching the 1985-86 Celtics for the best home record in league history. At 39-1, the Cavs can tie Boston's mark against Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

A 107-76 victory was Cleveland's most lopsided win ever in 173 games against the Celtics. ... Dwyane Wade shot 19-for-30 from the field, set a career high with six 3-pointers, and nearly topped Glen Rice's record of 56 points before leaving with 55 and 1:06 remaining in Miami's 122-105 win over New York. Wade now has six of the eight highest-scoring games in Heat history, four this season. ... Andrea Bargnani had a career-high six blocks for Toronto in a 111-104 win over Philadelphia. The Sixers' Andre Iguodala had a season-high 10 turnovers. ... Sacramento finished its Arco Arena schedule with the worst home winning percentage in franchise history at 11-30 (.268).

Philadelphia has lost five straight games after falling 111-104 at Toronto. ... The Kings lost their eighth straight, 95-92 to San Antonio. ... The Lakers went 4-0 to sweep the series against Memphis for the first time since 2002-03, finishing it off with a 92-75 victory.

Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and 14 rebounds in a 102-92 loss at New Orleans. ... Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler each scored 21 points for New York in a 122-105 loss at Miami. ... Spencer Hawes scored a career-high 24 points for the Kings in their 95-92 loss to San Antonio.

Kevin Garnett, who has missed 20 of the Celtics' last 24 games with a strained right knee, is scheduled to practice Monday in Philadelphia. "It might change," Rivers said. "We'll see what we're going to do." Boston plays the 76ers on Tuesday and Rivers wants Garnett to play in a game before the playoffs. ... Cavs C/F Ben Wallace bruised his left knee in the second quarter against the Celtics and did not return. Wallace, who recently returned from a broken right leg, will undergo an MRI on Monday. ... San Antonio kept Tim Duncan out of uniform to rest his sore knees in a 95-92 win at Sacramento.