The 13-4 New York Knicks will travel to South Beach to take on the 12-4 Miami Heat in a battle for the right to be in first place in the Eastern Conference Thursday at 8:00 pm ET.
A finger injury could keep Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony from helping New York avoid their sixth straight loss in Miami.
Anthony entered Wednesday's game in Charlotte averaging 30.7 points over his previous six. He had 23 when he dove into the team's bench after a loose ball and suffered a deep cut to his left middle finger with 2:10 remaining.
That left the Knicks needing another option down the stretch.
Shooting guard J.R. Smith intercepted a pass with 20 seconds left on a the clock and drained a jumper at the buzzer giving the Knicks a 100-98 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Smith finished the game with 13 points while Tyson Chandler added 18 points and 17 rebounds.
New York may heavily rely on Smith if Anthony can't go, but shooting against the Heat has been a struggle for Smith. He's hit just 33.6 percent from the field versus Miami in eight meetings.
Miami, though, is coming off a 105-100 loss at Washington -- which had only one victory entering the contest -- that snapped a season-best six-game winning streak. Chris Bosh scored 20 points and added 12 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade finished with 24 points.
LeBron James, who recorded 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, insisted the defeat was no more or less important than any other game.
"Nah, man, there's no lesson. This ain't a lesson for us. We just lost," James said. "We've seen and been through everything, so we don't need a loss to be like, 'Oh, let's catch ourselves.' It happens."
In his last 18 regular-season games, James has been a terror for the Knicks averaging 30.6 points, while Wade has averaged 30.3 in his last 13 meetings against them.
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