NEW YORK (AP) ― Carmelo Anthony and his sore left shoulder will probably get the night off Monday.
The New York Knicks have earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and with it the chance the rest some aching bodies.
Anthony scored 25 points on 9-for-23 shooting against the rugged Indiana defense, and the Knicks wrapped up the second spot with a 90-80 victory over the Pacers on Sunday.
The Knicks are back on the court Monday at Charlotte, but Anthony doesn’t think he’ll be joining them with nothing left to play for in the regular season.
Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin drives to the basket against the Sacramento Kings. (AP-Yonhap News)
“I always said today was a real important game for us to come in and lock down (the No. 2 seed),” Anthony said. “It was a big game for us so now guys can get their rest, I can get my rest and come back full speed ready for the playoffs.”
Chris Copeland added 20 points and J.R. Smith had 15 for the Knicks, who will host seventh-seeded Boston next weekend. New York is guaranteed the home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs after finishing a distant second to Miami in the conference.
Anthony didn’t play in the fourth quarter, ending his streak of 30-point games at seven, after he bruised his left shoulder when he was fouled by Sam Young in the third. Anthony had gone to the scorer’s table to check back in with around 4 minutes left, but was called back to the bench after Raymond Felton’s basket pushed the lead back to 12.
The Knicks won for the 15th time in 16 games and locked up their highest seed since they were also a No. 2 in 1994.
“It’s a good feeling to be in this position, to have home-court advantage for two rounds if we’re lucky enough to make it that far,” Felton said. “And just setting goals early in the year and accomplishing them is really big. We’re definitely happy now, not satisfied, though.”
Heat set franchise home mark
MIAMI (AP) ― Carlos Boozer turned his shoulder and knocked Dwyane Wade to the floor, while Nate Robinson shoved LeBron James as the NBA’s reigning MVP leaped near the basket. All in the same sequence, no less.
It was physical, rugged and exactly what the Miami Heat needed as part of their preparations for the playoffs, which start this coming weekend. James scored 24 points, Wade finished with 22 and the Heat set a franchise record for home wins in a season by topping the Chicago Bulls 105-93 on Sunday.
“It was good, especially against this team,” said James, who had seven rebounds and six assists. “You’re definitely not just going to show up and win against these guys. You’re going to have to work for it. So for us, to continue to get better and for us to have a really physical game, good game, testy game, we liked it.”
Chicago had more fouls (30) than field goals (29), the first time the Bulls have managed that in a regular-season game since Nov. 19, 2008.
The Bulls sent Miami to the line a season-high 41 times, and at times were so reliant on the 3-point shot that they went more than 16 minutes to open the second half without a single 2-point basket.
Toronto 93, Brooklyn 87
Philadelphia 91, Cleveland 77
Denver 118, Portland 109
Dallas 107, New Orleans 89
Houston 121, Sacramento 100
LA Lakers 91, San Antonio 86