By The Associated Press

MIAMI – The road to the NBA Finals will go through Miami.

Dwyane Wade matched his career-high with 39 points and the Heat easily overcame Shaquille O’Neal’s absence in beating the Chicago Bulls 104-86 on Tuesday night, a win that assured Miami the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs. Udonis Haslem added 16 points and 15 rebounds before being ejected late for Miami, which has won 18 straight games at home – the league’s longest run since Sacramento won that many three seasons ago.

Nets 111, Cavaliers 80

CLEVELAND – Vince Carter scored 27 points and the New Jersey Nets continued their push for a playoff berth with a 111-80 rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James scored 24 points, but could not keep Cleveland from its eighth loss in 12 games.

Pacers 97, Knicks 79

NEW YORK – Stephen Jackson celebrated his birthday by scoring 33 points and the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 97-79 despite a poor shooting night from Reggie Miller in his final appearance at Madison Square Garden.

Miller, who plans to retire after this season, has long tormented the Knicks and their fans – most notably film director Spike Lee – with his clutch play in crucial games at the Garden. On Tuesday, however, he went just 3-for-15 from the floor and finished with 13 points.

Nuggets 94, Grizzlies 91

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points and Kenyon Martin added 20 as the Denver Nuggets took over seventh place in the Western Conference playoff race with a 94-91 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies got off one final shot at the buzzer but Brian Cardinal’s 3-point attempt was wide right and missed the rim.

The victory put the Nuggets at 42-31 on the season. Eighth-place Memphis is 41-32.