The Miami Heat put the New York Knicks one more defeat from extinction Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, winning Game 3 87-70 under the fourth-quarter brilliance of LeBron James and guard Mario Chalmers.
James rang up 32 points — including eight straight to start the fourth — and the unheralded Chalmers added 19, including back-to-back three-pointers to break open the game. The defeat was the 13th straight for the Knicks in the playoffs, an NBA record.
Dwyane Wade added 20 points for the Heat, up 3-0 in the series. Miami goes for the sweep in N.Y. on Sunday afternoon.
Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points but shot just 7 of 23 for the Knicks, who played without Amare Stoudemire, who cut his hand after the Game 2 loss in Miami.
