The Tribune

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer MIAMI (AP) -- As LeBron James was walking to Miami's home bench for the final time this regular season, he raised his left arm to acknowledge the roars of another sold-out crowd. And when the obligatory "M-V-P" chants started up, James waved again. He'll be back next weekend, with bigger goals in mind. James finished with 32 points and eight rebounds, Norris Cole added 16 points and the Heat pulled away in the final minutes to beat Houston 97-88 on Sunday night and eliminate the Rockets from postseason contention. "It's very humbling, honestly," James said. "The fans have been amazing this year and they're going to continue to be amazing going into the postseason. ... It's humbling." Mike Miller scored 11 for injury-depleted Miami, which still has a mathematical chance of catching Chicago for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Joel Anthony added 11 for the Heat on 5-for-5 shooting. But James controlled the game, especially late as Miami needed a 31-19 fourth quarter to win its regular-season home finale. The Heat played without starters Dwyane Wade (dislocated left index finger), Chris Bosh (leg muscle fatigue) and Mario Chalmers (flulike symptoms). Backup center Ronny Turiaf missed his seventh straight game while recovering from a hamstring problem. On this night, they could relax and enjoy. "I think LeBron is having a historic season," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Chandler Parsons scored a career-high 23 for Houston, which led by as many as 13 in the first half. Parsons tied the game at 83 with a layup late in the fourth, before James' 3-pointer sparked an 8-0 run that put Miami in control. Goran Dragic scored 16, while Courtney Lee and Patrick Patterson had 14 apiece for the Rockets. Luis Scola scored 12. "We had chances," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "The game was kind of in the balance at 83-all. They got some separation. LeBron is a hell of a player." Houston missed the playoffs for the third straight year, even though it won't finish below .500 in any of them. "Failure is a horrible word, I don't like it and I don't consider it a failure," Scola said. "Our goal was to make the playoffs and we are hurt because we couldn't qualify. But a failure? No, I don't see it that way." It's unclear if Wade -- who after getting hurt on Saturday said he will be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs next weekend -- will play in either of Miami's two remaining regular-season games, at Boston on Tuesday and at Washington on Thursday.