Knicks dominate struggling Heat again

Charlotte Bobcats’ Kemba Walker, center, calls a timeout as he is trapped by New York Knicks’ Jason Kidd, left, and Tyson Chandler, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. The Knicks won 100-98. AP Photo/Chuck Burton

MIAMI — A sharpshooting New York Knicks team connected on 18 3-pointers to dominate the suddenly struggling Miami Heat for the second time this season, winning 112-92 on Thursday.

Raymond Felton scored a season-high 27 points as the Knicks easily beat the reigning NBA champions despite the absence of the injured Carmelo Anthony.

In Thursday’s other game the Dallas Mavericks hung on to edge the Phoenix Suns 97-94.

New York’s Steve Novak scored 18 points as the Knicks won their fifth straight and moved 1½ games clear of Miami for the best record in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks made eight 3-pointers in the third quarter alone, the most by any NBA team in a quarter this season.

Anthony sat out with a stitched middle finger on his left hand which he cut the previous night.

“You’ve got a key guy that goes down and the other guys get an opportunity to play and step up and make plays,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “It was a total team effort from everybody across the board. Our defense was solid and then we kind of broke it open at the end.”

Miami’s LeBron James nearly picked up his second straight triple-double — 31 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists — but even that was not enough for the Heat who put in another disappointing performance after losing to lowly Washington in its previous game.

Miami had won all eight of its home games coming in, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the team can only going to get back on the winning path by quickly addressing its shortcomings.

“We’re going to own this,” Spoelstra said. “We’re not going to brush this off. And we’re going to fix it.”

James took that to heart and worked out for more than an hour after the game.

“I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be better,” James said. “It’s that simple. So I’m here, and I’m the last one to leave.”

After the score was tied at halftime, the third quarter changed everything for the Knicks. An eight-3-pointers-in-eight-minutes barrage decided this one, with five different players getting in on the act for the Knicks.

In Phoenix, O.J. Mayo scored 23 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 35 seconds to go as Dallas inflicted a fifth straight defeat on the Suns.

Brandan Wright and Darren Collison scored 16 apiece for Dallas. Wright’s total was a season high.

Markieff Morris had 15 points and a career-best 17 rebounds for the Suns, who rallied from 15 down in the third quarter to tie it in the final minute.

But a closely-marked Mayo knocked down a 21-footer to put the Mavericks back ahead for good.

Phoenix’s Goran Dragic, who scored 15 points but shot only 5 of 14, missed an open driving layup, then Dallas sealed it with eight free throws in the final 19.3 seconds.