Knicks drop Clippers to No. 5 in West

With Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire on the bench, the Knicks nearly blew all of an 18-point, fourth-quarter lead before holding on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 99-93 on Wednesday night.

J.R. Smith scored 21 points, including a rally-stopping jumper with 31 seconds left, as the Knicks moved within one victory of wrapping up seventh place in the Eastern Conference and a first-round matchup with Miami.

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But the Knicks don’t seem to care about finishing with a higher seed, with Anthony saying he doesn’t expect to play Thursday in the regular-season finale, and players insisting they have no preference which East power they play in the first round.