Heat 86, Knicks 79: Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 27 points in his return from a seven-game absence and visiting Miami pulled away from New York down the stretch.

Wade, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury, shot 11-for-18 from the field after missing five of his first six shots to offset a poor shooting performance by most of his teammates. Chris Bosh contributed 20 points and nine rebounds and Luol Deng finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Miami.

Carmelo Anthony returned from a two-game absence due to back spasms and scored 31 points for the Knicks, who lost their fourth straight and their 13th game in the last 15. Amar’e Stoudemire was the only other player in double figures for New York, scoring 19 off the bench while grabbing 12 rebounds.

The Knicks trailed by as many as 12 in the third quarter before closing with a 6-0 run to pull within four entering the fourth. They cut the deficit to two three times in first four minutes of final quarter and again with 1:23 remaining but Anthony couldn’t match Bosh’s 3-pointer on the other end and New York went back down by five.

Bosh then missed from long range on the other end, but Tim Hardaway Jr. turned the ball over with 22 seconds left. The Heat then closed out the win by shooting 4-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 20 seconds.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Heat have the same 9-7 record after 16 games as they did in 2010, their first year with LeBron James, Bosh and Wade. … Knicks reserve G J.R. Smith missed all four of his field-goal attempts in six minutes of the first half, giving the team’s fourth-leading scorer one basket in his last 14 tries, and he did not play in the second half. … Sunday was the second straight game New York's opponent welcomed back one of its best players following a long-term absence due to injury. Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder returned Friday against New York after missing a month with a broken hand and he scored 32 points in the win.