Carmelo Anthony Sits Out Knicks" Loss to Heat MIAMI - Reality caught up to Carmelo Anthony on Friday, chasing him into temporary exile and destabilizing an already unstable Knicks lineup, at perhaps the worst possible time. Anthony finally bowed to his many injuries - an ankle, a wrist and a thumb among them - leaving the Knicks to battle LeBron James and Dwyane Wade without their most dynamic force. The outcome was exactly as expected, a 99-89 loss to the Miami Heat, although the Knicks may have reclaimed a little confidence along the way. They kept the game close deep into the fourth quarter, riding Bill Walker's hot hand and a hailstorm of 3-pointers, until James took over down the stretch, scoring 12 of his 31 points in the final five minutes to seal the victory. Wade had 28 points, showing no ill effects from a sprained ankle that caused him to miss the previous six games. The Knicks (7-12), who lost for the eighth time in nine games, conclude their road trip Saturday in Houston. They will again be without Anthony. The Knicks announced earlier in the day that Anthony would miss both games to allow him to recover from his many injuries. He could return for Tuesday's home game against the Detroit Pistons. Landry Fields replaced Anthony at small forward, but it was Walker who replaced his scoring, with a fabulous 3-point-shooting display. Walker led the Knicks with 21 points, setting career highs in 3-pointers made (7) and attempted (10). Amar'e Stoudemire continued his struggles, finishing with 12 points and a 5-for-14 shooting line. Toney Douglas rejoined the starting lineup and scored 16 points. The Knicks kept pace all night by shooting 3-pointers at a mind-numbing rate, making 18 of their 43 tries. The Knicks had sunk 14 3-pointers before the Heat hit their first, by Shane Battier late in the third quarter. The Knicks announced the plans to rest Anthony at their morning shootaround, with Coach Mike D'Antoni calling it a decision that was "for the better of everybody." D'Antoni added: "We've got to have him 100 percent, or we don't have a chance. Anthony shot an abysmal 31.7 percent from the field (40 for 126) over his last six games, all after spraining his left (non-shooting) wrist and his right ankle in a Jan. 12 loss to Memphis. Adding to his troubles, he sprained his right thumb Tuesday and scored a career-low 1 point against the Charlotte Bobcats. "I think I was trying to be a superhero, trying to prove to my teammates that I can play hurt, trying to hide it," Anthony said. Team officials and Anthony started discussing the possibility of an extended rest after Wednesday" s loss in Cleveland. "If you looking at the games over the last week, week and a half, I just wasn't myself physically," Anthony said. Without Anthony, the Knicks figured to lean harder on Stoudemire. But he missed his first five shots in a strange but entertaining first half. The Heat provided the entertainment, with a series of circus dunks by James and Wade. The Knicks provided the strange, making twice as many 3-pointers (10) as 2-pointers (5) and briefly taking a 6-point lead despite their overall struggles from the field. The Knicks went 6 for 22 in the first quarter but somehow forged a 22-22 tie. They took a lead early in the second quarter as Mike Bibby and Steve Novak strung together three straight 3-pointers. The Knicks then missed their next seven shots - all from 3-point range - as Miami regained control. Baron Davis will not make his Knicks debut until at least Tuesday, having been declared out of both games this weekend. "Still a little bit away," Mike D'Antoni said. And we're going to wait until he can be N.B.A.-ready. ... Win or lose, Tyson Chandler was sure to leave American Airlines Arena with warm memories - the happy residue left from the championship he celebrated with the Dallas Mavericks last June. "The moment we stepped off the plane, taking the route, good memories came back," Chandler said. Despite the Knicks" struggles, Chandler is confident he can be part of another such celebration. "I still believe that we have all the pieces here to be a contender," he said. It's just a matter of us doing the little things. It's a fine line in this league between winning and losing, no matter who you put on the floor. ... Eddy Curry, the former Knicks center who joined the Heat in December, did not play. ... Isiah Thomas, the former Knicks president, watched the game from a baseline seat, next to the N.B.A. power broker William Wesley.