Miami 92, New York 84

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Mike James took over during a two-minute stretch bridging the final two quarters Sunday night and helped the Miami Heat rally for their season-high third straight win, 92-84 over the New York Knicks.

James beat the third-quarter buzzer with a jumper to put Miami ahead for good, 67-65, then scored the first four points in the final period. He poured in 13 of his 17 points in the second half as the Heat erased an early 14-point deficit.

Eddie Jones scored 22 points to lead six players in double figures for Miami, which had not won three in a row since a four-game streak from Feb. 28-March 6. The Heat also got 17 points from Malik Allen and 13 from Travis Best.

A layup by Clarence Weatherspoon gave New York its largest lead, 39-25, with 9:42 to go in the second quarter. But the Knicks totaled just 35 points after halftime and lost for the third time in four games.

Howard Eisley collected 19 points and five assists and Kurt Thomas had 16 points and nine rebounds against his former team for New York, which fell to 6-9 at home.