MIAMI — LeBron James was promised some rest. It never came. The MVP didn't care, not after he and the Miami Heat struck the first blow against the Indiana Pacers.

James accepted his third most valuable player trophy from Commissioner David Stern before the game, then scored 26 of his game-high 32 points while playing every second of the second half — adding a season-high 15 rebounds as well — as the Heat survived some rough stretches to beat the Pacers, 95-86, on Sunday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

"I just looked at him straight in the eyes and said, 'You can flat-out not get tired, period,' " Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And he made MVP plays on both ends of the court."

Dwyane Wade scored 29 points for the Heat, which won the game but lost Chris Bosh for the second half and possibly longer. Bosh scored 13 points before leaving late in the first half with a lower abdominal strain, with the team saying he was being scheduled for an MRI exam to determine the severity.

"Hopefully [Monday] we get good news," Wade said. "We all just want to make sure Chris is healthy. So that's all we know right now. Our brother is going to go to see if he can get back out there and play with us. If not, then we've got to have someone step up very big. You can't fill Chris Bosh's shoes, but you can have a few guys step up. So we'll see."

David West and Roy Hibbert each scored 17 points and combined for 23 rebounds for the Pacers, who got 10 points each from Darren Collison and George Hill. Indiana controlled long stretches of the first half and didn't trail by more than two points at any time until the fourth quarter, when it was outscored, 25-16.

Indiana shot 50% in the first half, 30% in the second. "We started to get defensive stops," James said. "We started getting things rolling." Game 2 is Tuesday in Miami. "We're not just here to play. We're here to win," Hibbert said. "We need to win Game 2 and come back strong."

Playing one star down, James and Wade raised their games accordingly after halftime. They combined for 42 points in the third and fourth quarters, four more than the entire Indiana roster. The Pacers scored 16 in the fourth, and James had that many alone.

"We definitely let this one get away," Indiana guard Paul George said. "It seemed like we weren't supposed to win this one. Everybody in this room knew we had this game."

Everything was undecided until the final moments. Hill made a three-pointer with 4 minutes 51 seconds left, getting Indiana within 86-85. But the Pacers missed their final nine shots of the game, James had a dunk in transition to make it 90-85 with 4:10 left, and his jumper with 31.8 seconds remaining wrapped up the Heat win.

"It's a battle and we know, regardless of being at home, being away, who we're playing, what round, it's tough to win in the playoffs and you have to fight for every single possession," Spoelstra said. "And that's what it was."

From his seat a few rows above the court, it was like Stern knew what was coming long before it happened. Stern was on hand to present James with his MVP trophy in a pregame ceremony. Later, in a televised in-game interview, Stern said that James is just "warming up" with three MVPs, a total that only seven other players have reached.

"He's a great player," Stern said. "He is so strong and so athletic and so determined when he decides to take over a game, he's extraordinary to watch."

Before Sunday, the last time someone had as many as 32 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and two steals in a playoff game was Vince Carter in May 2006, according to STATS LLC. Plus, James played a big role in something that didn't show up on his personal stat line — Danny Granger shot one for 10 for Indiana, scoring only seven points.

"I don't know if he's going to have a huge offensive series," Indiana Coach Frank Vogel said. "When you have to guard the MVP for 38 minutes, it takes a lot out of your offensive game."

Wade shot only eight for 23 from the field, and the Heat missed all six of its attempts from three-point range — a first in team playoff history. But the Heat held a 45-38 rebounding edge, and allowed Indiana to make only 11 of 37 shots after halftime.

"Definitely not our best game," Vogel said. "We didn't shoot it very well. … It came down to execution in the fourth quarter and you've got to give credit to Miami's defense."

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MIAMI — Heat forward LeBron James is the NBA's MVP for a third time, putting him alongside some of the game's all-time greats.

A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that James will be announced Saturday as this year's winner of the league's top individual honor, and that he'll be formally presented with the trophy by Commissioner David Stern on Sunday afternoon before Miami hosts Indiana in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not announced the results. Late Friday night, the Heat released plans for a 1 p.m. Saturday event on the court at AmericanAirlines Arena so the team and the NBA could "make a major announcement."

James is winning the award for the third time in four seasons. Only seven other players – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone – have at least three MVP trophies.

James said last week that while another MVP award "would be amazing and would be humbling," it's not what drives him. In his ninth season, James still has not won an NBA title and it's clear that, although he wanted to reclaim the MVP trophy, winning a championship is far and away his top basketball priority.

"What I'm all about is team and ever since I was a kid, I was always taught it's team first," James told the AP on Friday. "My first time playing basketball, we went undefeated and won a championship and Frank Walker Sr. gave everyone on the team a MVP trophy. Right then and there, I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to see my teammates reap the benefits as well."

Abdul-Jabbar won the MVP six times, Jordan and Russell five times each, Chamberlain four times. After this weekend, they'll be the only players with more than James.

"I think he's probably as committed as he's ever been in his career," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said this week, asked to summarize James' season. "And he's always been committed. ... We all respond to his energy on the court."

James averaged 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists – making him only the fourth player with those totals in at least two different seasons, according to STATS LLC, joining Oscar Robertson (five times), John Havlicek (twice) and Bird (twice).

Add James' 53 percent shooting and 1.9 steals per game into the mix, and the club gets even more exclusive. Only Jordan had a season with numbers exceeding what James did this season in those categories – 1988-89, when he averaged 32.5 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and 2.9 steals on 54 percent shooting.

And Jordan wasn't even the MVP that year, the trophy going to Johnson instead.

"I think LeBron is an MVP candidate every year," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said last month. "It's just who he is. He only does everything. So I don't know what more you can ask from him.

"LeBron, to me, is the favorite every year," Rivers added. "The years he doesn't win it, it'll usually be because people are just tired of voting for him. Statistically, if you go all-around game, I don't know how you don't vote for him every year."

The MVP votes will be revealed Saturday. Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant was thought to be James' top competition for the MVP, after winning the NBA scoring title for a third straight season. Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs also had seasons that generated some MVP buzz.

James' teammates also lobbied for him to be defensive player of the year this season, noting that probably no one else in the league routinely plays four positions on offense while sometimes being asked to guard anyone from a point guard to a center on defense. James was fourth in that balloting.

"LeBron has been unbelievable," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said before the playoffs. "He's done it at both ends, every night, offensively and defensively."

Last season's MVP, Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, appeared in only 39 of 66 regular-season games this season because of a variety of injuries. His season ended in Game 1 of the Bulls' first-round playoff series against Philadelphia, when he tore a knee ligament.

Many in the Heat organization thought James should have won the award a year ago as well, when he dealt with constant fallout from "The Decision" to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent and sign with Miami, where he, Wade and Chris Bosh formed a "Big Three" that has been celebrated at home and reviled in just about every other NBA arena.

James has said he played more out of anger and to silence criticism than anything else last season. So this season, his mindset changed, with him trying to revert to old ways, first as a superstar-in-waiting at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, then during his seven seasons with the Cavaliers.

It apparently worked. "I wanted to get back to who I was as a person," James said. It's the first time that the Heat will be hosting an MVP celebration. Shaquille O'Neal won his only MVP award before coming to Miami, and James won the 2009 and 2010 trophies with the Cavaliers – collecting 225 of a possible 244 first-place votes in those seasons.

The NBA MVP trophy is named for Maurice Podoloff, the league's first commissioner. Heat assistant coach Bob McAdoo won the award once, for the Buffalo Braves in 1975.

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The ever-creative New York fans decided a couple games ago to serenade LeBron James with a chant that almost rhymes with “lasso.” Apparently, they don't like him. This can be a problem at times for James, who really likes to be liked. But this time, in Game 3 of the Miami Heat's first-round playoff series with the Knicks, James took the bait and used it to his advantage. He bore down, scored 17 fourth-quarter points and demonstrated why – when he's in the zone – he's unstoppable. It's time James fully embraced his unpopularity outside of Miami. We've spent forever comparing James to Michael Jordan and, like everyone else who has been compared to Michael Jordan, James comes up short. Maybe a better comparison is Wilt Chamberlain.

Wilt's biggest crimes were 1) he was a freak who could do anything on a basketball court, and 2) he wasn't Bill Russell. LeBron's biggest crimes are: 1) he's a freak who can do anything on a basketball court, and 2) he's not Michael Jordan. Yes, I'm going way back on this comparison and if you don't know anything about Chamberlain and Russell, don't even bother trying to weigh in on James' place in NBA history. Do some studying. (End of old-guy rant.)

James proved with his statistical dominance this season (27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists per game) that he's the most talented player in the game. He does everything well, most things great, and the one area where he's weakest – three-point shooting – he toned down to help his game. Even that weakness isn't a full-bore weakness. He shot 36 percent from three-point range in the regular season. He can still nail a long-distance three in a defender's face.

Because of James' televised fiasco of a departure from Cleveland, saying he was “taking my talents to South Beach,” and his intent on manufacturing a title through free agency, he's a villain to opposing fans. Even relatively neutral fans, like those of the Indiana Pacers (the NBA's Switzerland), disliked the way he paired up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to create a “superteam.”

Chamberlain was never beloved, never the “winner” like Russell and his Boston Celtics dynasty. Wilt the Stilt later became a punch line after distastefully boasting about his "relationships" with the ladies. He won his title near the end of his career, when he reinvented himself as a monster defender and supporting player with the Lakers. James shouldn't have to wait that long. Miami is the favorite to win the NBA title this season. (Then again, they were the favorites last year, too.)

Still, James is likely stuck in the role of villain, as Chamberlain was, from now on. That's a shame in one respect for fans, because if you allow yourself to watch James from the perspective of liking him as a player, you'll see his game differently. You'll appreciate his talents at reading the court, passing, hustling, setting up teammates, defending and, of course, scoring. He's not protected the way Jordan was. NBA referees allow James to be mugged by defenders away from the ball with rarely a hint of a call. Carmelo Anthony uses an arsenal of holds and shoves against James that pro wrestlers would envy.

James must employ every bit of his ample muscular frame on drives. Outside of Shaquille O'Neal, no recent player has taken more uncalled hacks in the paint. If you're not a Heat fan, you probably call that good “physical” defense. The fact is James can't be stopped without the physical defense, much like the towering Chamberlain, who was rock solid, 7-foot-1 and capable of leaping out of the gym. Even the Heat doesn't know what it has in James at times.

I still can't believe James didn't have the ball in his hands at the end of Game 4, when Wade dribbled around, drove in the lane, lost the handle of the ball, recovered and missed a fade-away three-pointer.
Yes, Wade has been clutch in the past. But sometimes coaches out-think the situation. It's tough, given the ample talents of Wade. But James is the best player in basketball and, thus, the best on his team. Down two points and you don't let him drive to the hoop for a bucket, a foul or both?

In a late regular-season game, New Jersey Nets fans spent all night booing and jeering James before he scored 17 consecutive points to seal the game. They chanted “M-V-P!” He's not going to win over many stadiums. That's a rare exception.

James should embrace opposing fans' vitriol. Let it be an aural energy drink. Use it as fuel. Ride the wave of the villain. James will never again be liked by everyone, if he ever was. He should take a lesson from Chamberlain's story. You don't have to be liked to be great.  Fans should realize, too, they don't have to like LeBron James to appreciate watching him do his thing.

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It goes without saying that LeBron James is arguably the best, and most talented, basketball player on the face of this planet. The man can do it all—shoot, pass, score, rebound and dish the ball—and he's proven through the course of his career that he can be the most dominant person on a basketball court on any given night of the year for the Miami Heat.

But, of course, we all know the one part to his game that everyone and their mother loves to critique once in a while—closing games in the final minute and getting the 'W.'

The two-time MVP has hit some big shots throughout his career and has made big plays in big moments, so it's not like he has no clue how to finish a game. But when people want to talk about LeBron and his struggles, it always leads back to last year's NBA Finals from Game 2 and beyond.

After going through a year in which he was criticized and hated more than ever before, LeBron has taken what's been given to him in this lockout-shortened season and has made the best of it and will more than likely add another MVP trophy to his collection by the end of it all.

He's had big games and made big plays this year, and of course he's made some questionable decisions in the final minute. Game 4 on Sunday against the New York Knicks was more of the prior than the latter of that statement.

A nine-point fourth quarter highlighted by a three-pointer in the face of Carmelo Anthony and an and-1 conversion to the dismay of Tyson Chandler set the stage for what would be "King James'" coming-out party to close a game in the playoffs yet again.

Then, down by two with the final possession, head coach Erik Spoelstra drew up the play on the white board—for Dwyane Wade. The rest is history, which is why the Heat and Knicks will be playing a Game 5 in South Beach on Wednesday.

Now before people get all crazy and leave hate comments about if I question Wade getting the last shot, I know the man can close games. He's proven it time and time again that he can do it, more times than LeBron in certain aspects. This trait is why he's a Finals MVP and a regular All-Star every year.

But there's a fine line between who should take the last shot and who needs to take the last shot, especially for the Heat with their trio of stars including Chris Bosh.

Simply put, LeBron James earned the right to take the last shot on Sunday. The way he was playing in the final minutes of that game—and considering what he's done to the Knicks in the majority of this series—there's no reason or valid statement that can answer why Spoelstra did not run something for this man in the final play of regulation.

This is nowhere near the first time that Spoelstra has deferred to let Wade take the final shot and, to his credit, he's made his fair share of big-time buckets.

But, to use a line that Stephen A. Smith used on "ESPN's First Take" this morning, the Heat were playing with house money up 3-0 on a team they've dominated in each game this series. What more did the Heat have to lose, other than going back to Miami to close out the series in five games?

Other than the usual LeBron haters coming out of the wood works and saying he can't close games, there's not much he, nor Miami, could've lost. Drawing up a play where this man is standing in the corner and running an isolation play for Wade is unacceptable and disrespectful and only adds fuel to the fire of the haters. How's he going to show he can win a game if he's standing in the corner with no chance to make a play?

I will say, however, that LeBron's decisions to pass more than shoot on the last play are very questionable, and that's still a trait he needs to clean up if he wants to shut his critics up.

But this is the problem that Miami was bound to face when they brought their trio to South Beach. When you have two, sometimes three, closers who can win you a game, it's these kinds of debates that spark ever so bright. And this, no question, puts a ton of pressure on Spoelstra to make the right decision.

However, no one, other than 'Melo on that day, was going to better James on offense if he wanted to take the last shot. If he gets the ball with Anthony guarding him, nine times out of 10, LeBron will get you the points you need.

But we'll never know how that goes if Spoelstra can't draw up an isolation play for James of some sorts to get him the ball. It's occurrences like these that have Heat fans in an uproar for Pat Riley to take over as coach, because people believe he would let LeBron take the final shot with the way he was playing.

It will become a lingering problem if Spoelstra can't make the right decisions in the final minutes of a game, though it's a tough one as is. Give the man a chance to make a play, and if it doesn't work, then move on to the next game.

Trying to satisfy two superstars can't be a fun task to deal with, but if yesterday didn't prove that Spoelstra needs to better understand the situation, then this will be a big problem. Unless you're Skip Bayless, then what happened yesterday was the best possible thing that could've happened.

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The San Antonio Spurs won their first of four NBA titles in 1999 over the New York Knicks in a lockout-shortened season. That led to ex-NBA coach Phil Jackson claim the Spurs' title deserved an asterisk since it came in an truncated season. Since then, that label is always mentioned when looking back at the Spurs' first title and draws the ire of Spurs fans whenever it is thrown in their face.

Fast forward to this season and the Spurs are looking strong, and are on the verge of sweeping the Utah Jazz in their first-round series as their march to a fifth championship continues in another shortened season affected by this summer's lockout. And should the Spurs win it all this season, the asterisk talk will more than likely be brought up yet again.

However, the Miami Heat are also looking like a legit champion and could be the final team standing in June and they to might be given the unfortunate label should they win it all.
But in LeBron James' opinion, a short season doesn't take away from any title, and says the Spurs' '99 title should not be lessened because of the short season.

“I don’t discredit the effort San Antonio had when they won it in ’99 after the lockout,” LeBron said. “We all know Gregg Popovich is an unbelievable coach and Tim Duncan is an unbelievable player. It shouldn’t matter. They won multiple (titles) after that so are we going to say that first one wasn’t good enough? I don’t think that’s true at all.”

What many people forget is that the playoffs in the 1999 truncated season , the playoffs were a normal format. San Antonio had to push through the playoffs like all teams in the playoff field. I am sure the Knicks, Blazers, Heat, Timberwolves and all other teams in the '99 playoffs would have loved to have taken the title then and scoff at the asterisk label.

Moreover, Spurs fans cannot let Jackson's barb last forever. I am positive if he had won the NBA title in 1999, he would have glorified it and not discounted it at all. What do you have to say Spurs fans? Are you still bothered by the whole asterisk talk?

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A look of shock & disbelief crossed LeBron James's face when he learned he'd been called for a foul late in last night's Knicks-Heat Game Three on what appeared to be a clean block. It didn't matter much, as the Heat won to take a 3-0 lead in the series and essentially put a lock on the Knicks' madcap season.

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NEW YORK -- LeBron James had more turnovers and fouls than baskets, and still the Miami Heat were ahead. James didn't like having to sit, but he sure liked what he saw. "I'm not a guy who's in foul trouble a lot, so it was difficult for me to sit down early in the third," he said. "But we have a great supporting cast. Our defense was tremendous in the third quarter. It allowed us to go into the fourth quarter with a lead."

Then James came back and increased it. James scored 32 points, including eight straight to start the fourth quarter and break open the game, and the Heat took a 3-0 series lead, sending the New York Knicks to an NBA postseason-record 13th straight loss, 87-70 on Thursday night.

James had 17 points in the final period for the Heat, who held the short-handed Knicks to eight field goals in the second half and will go for the sweep Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

"He just has to stay with it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He had some turnovers, he had some mistakes but he was able to keep his head in it."

Wade added 20 points for the Heat and Mario Chalmers had 19, hitting consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when the Heat finally brought some beauty to what had been an ugly game.

Wade was forced to go the whole third quarter while James was limited to just 4 1/2 minutes by fouls. Wade had 12 points in the period, knowing the two-time MVP would be coming back with fresh legs.

"I thought probably sitting over there that whole third quarter was probably good for him, because he came right in right away and got right at it. He didn't waste any time," Wade said. "He's never really in foul trouble, so I thought it was good for him."

Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points but shot 7 of 23 for the Knicks, who are playing without Amare Stoudemire, Jeremy Lin and Iman Shumpert and needed a super effort from Anthony that he didn't come close to providing.

"When you can't score the basketball, that makes the game extremely hard, no matter how much defense we go down there and play," Anthony said.

The Knicks broke the record set by Memphis from 2004-06. They haven't won a playoff game since April 29, 2001, Game 3 of a best-of-five series against Toronto. No NBA team has overcome a 3-0 deficit.

"It's a tough one. It's an uphill battle, but it's one we have to go through," center Tyson Chandler said. "Obviously no one wants to be in a hole 0-3, you know in the playoffs especially against a tough team like (Miami), but that's the way it is and we've got to keep fighting."

Chris Bosh had nine points and 10 rebounds hours after the birth of his first child. He flew to New York with the Heat on Wednesday, then quickly hopped on a flight back to Miami after learning his wife was in labor. He returned Thursday afternoon following the birth of his son, arriving at the arena about 30 minutes before the game.

In a sloppy game, Miami went 10 minutes without a field goal in the second half, followed by the Knicks managing just three baskets in the third quarter.

Then James, who finished with eight turnovers, took over.

He came off the bench to start the fourth after sitting most of the third in foul trouble, quickly providing the best offensive stretch in the game. He nailed a 3-pointer, followed his own miss, then hit again from behind the arc, turning the Heat's two-point lead into a 66-56 cushion with 10:36 remaining.

"He was in foul trouble," Bosh said. "He was struggling a little bit and he had pretty much the whole third quarter to think about what was going on. I think that was good for him. I think it really built a desire in him a little bit and then he made sure we got off to a great start in the fourth quarter which was very important for us."

The Heat put it away midway through the period, when Wade made a jumper before Chalmers hit twice in a row from behind the arc to make it 77-62 with 5:40 to play.

Fans started leaving, realizing there was little hope of the Knicks making up 15 points on anybody with the lineup they have.

The Knicks shot 32 percent, getting a 5-for-18 night from JR Smith. New York shot 4 of 20 from 3-point range, with Smith missing all five of his attempts.

During one hideous stretch, Baron Davis' jumper gave the Knicks a three-point lead with 8:46 left in the third, but they didn't hit again for 7 minutes -- and even that make was ugly. Anthony flung in a shot off the backboard while being fouled and tied the score at 51.

"Offensively we just didn't have it," Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson said. "We were so stagnant and I got to take the heat for that."

Lin is practicing again after knee surgery but is not ready to return. Shumpert tore a knee ligament in Game 1, and Stoudemire is hoping the hand injury he sustained punching a fire extinguisher case following Game 2 is healed enough to let him play Sunday.

Desperate to see playoff success, Knicks fans were loud early, chanting "Beat the Heat! Beat the Heat!" but the Knicks gave them little to cheer about once the game started. They made one basket in the first 5 minutes and fell behind by as many as nine points, but then shut down the Heat from the field after Bosh's basket with 4:59 left and tied it at 19 by period's end.

James came in averaging 29.9 points at the current Madison Square Garden, trailing only Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant among opponents who played here at least 10 games. Wade was just behind in fourth with 27.3 per game.

Yet the superstars both started 1 of 6 from the field, James seeming particularly frustrated with the officials and even teammates. Once a fan favorite at the Garden -- Knicks fans hoped he would sign here as a free agent in 2010 -- he was booed, mocked and cursed by the crowd Thursday.

He eventually would get on the roll he is accustomed to here. The Heat won the opener by 33 points and took Game 2 104-94 on Monday, when the Knicks' biggest problems came after the game. Stoudemire punched a fire extinguisher case in the arena and badly cut his left hand, needing surgery Tuesday to repair a muscle. He sat on bench with his arm in a sling. Steve Novak started for him but took only two shots and missed them both.

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The New York Knicks will beat the Miami Heat in the opening round of the National Basketball Association playoffs if the measure of success is profit instead of points. The Knicks were one of eight profitable teams during the 2010-11 season, topping money-losers including LeBron James’s Heat and the Dallas Mavericks, who won the championship. NBA teams lost a combined $300 million a year ago, the league said, saying that’s a key reason why a more restrictive collective bargaining agreement was necessary.

While the Knicks and owner Jim Dolan have made headlines for management dysfunction with their sports properties, little can keep the parent company, Madison Square Garden Co. (MSG), from profitability, analysts who cover the New York-based company said.

“If you don’t do anything stupid, you’re going to keep making money,” Dan Medina, a research analyst with Needham & Co., which has a “buy” rating on MSG and doesn’t own shares, said in a telephone interview from his office in San Francisco. MSG was spun off from Cablevision Systems Corp.

The sports teams are a high-profile piece of MSG, which has three main components: MSG Sports, which includes the Knicks, hockey’s Rangers and their arena, Madison Square Garden; MSG Media, which includes the MSG Network; and MSG Entertainment, which includes Radio City Music Hall, which hosts such New York icons as the Christmas Spectacular and the Rockettes.

The sports teams have also been sources of embarrassment. In 2007, the Knicks lost an $11.6 million sex harassment lawsuit brought by a female executive. NBA Commissioner David Stern at the time told ESPN that “it demonstrates that they’re not a model of intelligent management.”

Playoffs Begin
The NBA playoffs begin after a regular season that was trimmed to 66 games from the usual 82 because owners shut down the league in a labor fight with the players union. The Knicks open their postseason tomorrow in Miami against the Heat, which reached the championship series last season. The Rangers, meantime, defeated the Ottawa Senators 2-1 in a deciding seventh game last night to reach the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2008. It’s the second straight season both the Knicks and Rangers made the postseason. Last year was the first time since 1997. MSG shares have more than doubled since the company was spun off from Cablevision Systems Corp. on Feb. 10, 2010. Shares closed at $35.83 yesterday, up 1.1 percent, or 40 cents.

Sports Revenue
Much of MSG’s financial success comes from controlling the revenue streams associated with the sports teams, Medina said.

MSG had $373 million in revenue in the quarter ended Dec. 31. Of that, $151 million came from the entertainment division, $142 million from media and $89 million from sports, which was hurt as the Knicks played fewer games because of the lockout, Hank Ratner, MSG’s chief executive officer, said in a Feb. 8 conference call to discuss earnings.

“This integrated approach, along with our deep relationships in the sports, media and entertainment industries, and strong connection with our diverse and passionate audiences, is what drives our growth and sets us apart in the industry,” Ratner said in an e-mailed statement. In the quarter that ended March 31, 2011, during the NBA season, the sports division had revenue of about $158 million, most among the three parts of the company.

Dodgers Sale
The possibility of owning a team, arena and network is one reason why a group led by basketball hall-of-famer Magic Johnson paid a record $2.15 billion for baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers. The purchase was just as much about media and real estate as it was baseball, sports bankers such as Rob Tilliss, founder of Inner Circle Sports, have said.

“Controlling it all, they will in most cases find a way to make money,” Medina said of MSG, which, he added, benefits from having a fervent fan base in the nation’s No. 1 media market. Just how much money the sports and media divisions make depends on team performance. More wins usually mean more fans, more concession revenue and more people watching on TV. “Right now the teams are performing well,” Bob Gutkowski, president of MSG from 1991-94, said in a telephone interview from his office in New York. “The network is performing well. There’s nothing they can do at this particular point not to make money.”

Jeremy Lin Effect
The sports and entertainment divisions got a boost this season from the emergence of Harvard University graduate Jeremy Lin, an undrafted player of Taiwanese descent who drove interest in the team after taking over as the starting point guard on Feb. 6 and sparking a six-game winning streak.
Lin, 23, not only led to the addition of Asia-based sponsors, his popularity helped forge an agreement between MSG and Time Warner Cable Inc., which wasn’t carrying MSG because of a pricing dispute.
About the only thing that could crimp profit, Gutkowski said, would be a prolonged slump from the Knicks and Rangers. That would affect everything from sponsorship and attendance to how much MSG can charge cable operators for its networks.

Heat spokesman Tim Donovan declined to comment on team finances. Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Vasily Karasyov, who this month downgraded MSG to negative from neutral because “fundamentals don’t support the current share price,” in a telephone interview said even underperforming teams wouldn’t keep MSG from making money. Winning teams, he said, allow for larger price increases and advertising rates.

The Knicks this season raised season tickets by an average 49 percent amid what the company calls an almost $1 billion transformation of the arena. Susquehanna is a market maker in the securities of MSG.
“The changes of winning teams are small, positive and incremental, but not life changing,” Karasyov said. “You can’t ruin MSG.”

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As the flagrant foul heard around the world, Metta World Peace concussed James Harden on a Sunday with a vicious elbow that even Hall of Famer Magic Johnson indicated was intentional and a cheap shot. According to Ira Winderman, LeBron James while being stretched in the locker room was shocked and shared his thoughts on the violent elbow.

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MIAMI — Even with the Heat still mathematically alive for the best record in the Eastern Conference, the most important results during the final week of the regular season are those on the medical reports and not the scoreboard.

The Heat concluded its home schedule with a 97-88 victory over the Houston Rockets before an enthusiastic AmericanAirlines Arena crowd. Miami finished 28-5 for its second-best home winning percentage (84.8) in franchise history.

While Miami was playing without Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers and Ronny Turiaf, the Rockets were fighting for their playoff lives. The loss eliminated Houston from post-season contention.

"Anytime you have to close out a close game going down the stretch ... it always helps," LeBron James said. "It's about building habits."Consecutive three-pointers by James and Mike Miller snapped an 83-all tie and gave Miami the lead for good. James led the Heat with 32 points. Norris Cole added 16.

James was removed with 33 seconds remaining to a thunderous ovation and chants of "MVP, MVP." He called the moment "very humbling."James also all but confirmed he won't be playing in the final two regular-season games, Tuesday at Boston and Thursday at Washington.

"I could use the rest," he said, twice. With Game 1 of the playoffs either Saturday or Sunday, the attention is mostly focused on who isn't playing rather than who is.

Wade rested his dislocated left index finger but isn't expected to miss any playoff time because of the injury, which occurred three minutes into Saturday's loss to Washington. Wade likely will join James on the bench for those final two games.

Bosh's mysterious ailment now is being defined as "muscle fatigue in his legs," according to coach Erik Spoelstra. In other words, Bosh is tired, and he has rested his weary bones for four consecutive games now. "We wanted to make sure we were proactive with it to make sure it did not turn into something more," Spoelstra said.

Chalmers had flu-like symptoms, and Turiaf continues to rest his injured hamstring. As a result, Spoelstra trotted out his 16th different starting lineup of the season: James, Udonis Haslem, Dexter Pittman, James Jones and Cole.

"This is a hybrid lineup," Spoelstra said. Miller and Joel Anthony each had 11 points off the bench. Miller, particularly, has looked as comfortable as he has all season lately with the extended time.

"We didn't plan on it this way with guys sitting out, but it's a residual of that," Spoelstra said. "It's been good for him. We're finally starting to see the things we like about Mike."The Heat still has an outside chance at the No. 1 seed in the East, but in reality that ended Saturday when the Heat lost to Washington and Chicago beat Dallas.

The Bulls would have to lose their final two games (at Indiana and at home against Cleveland) and the Heat would need to win its final two for Miami to overtake Chicago. "It's always a strange time of the year," Heat forward Shane Battier said. "We know everyone will be able to go the first game of the playoffs. Right now it's about being healthy as much as anything."Chandler Parsons, the rookie from Florida, led Houston with a career-high 23 points.

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