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SACRAMENTO, Calif. Tobias Harris Jersey . -- Even against the Western Conferences worst teams, nothing is coming easy for the New York Knicks right now. Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points, J.R. Smith tied a franchise-record with nine 3-pointers and the Knicks held off a furious rally to beat the Sacramento Kings 107-99 Wednesday night and move a game closer to the final playoff seed. "We needed all of them, Ill tell you that," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said, shaking his head in relief. A night after a lacklustre 127-96 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers, the Knicks avoided a monumental collapse to another of the leagues cellar-dwellers. New York led by 24 in the third quarter before Sacramento surged back, and the Knicks needed a scintillating shooting performance from its leading men to snap a two-game skid. Smith scored 29 points on 10-for-19 shooting, including 9 for 12 from long distance. Anthony shot 12 for 21 from the floor and 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. "That was big time," Anthony said. New York (30-42) is two games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference after the Hawks (31-39) lost 107-83 to Minnesota. DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists to carry the Kings, who played without injured point guard Isaiah Thomas (bruised right quadriceps). Ray McCallum made his first start in Thomas place alongside fellow rookie Ben McLemore, and the two shook off a slow start to bring the Kings back. McCallum had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. McLemore scored 16. But New York outshot Sacramento 54.8 per cent to 47.8 per cent and finished 15 for 26 from 3-point range. "The 3-point line killed us," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "You have J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony, thats going to be tough to beat." About the only thing that kept the Kings close most of the night-- besides Cousins -- was free throws. Sacramento shot 27 for 35 on free throws, while New York finished 12 for 13. Sacramento scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter and finished with a flurry of highlights to give the Knicks a scare. Cousins three-point play over Amare Stoudemire trimmed New Yorks lead to 96-94 with 4:30 remaining, sending most of the announced crowd of 15,494 roaring to their feet. Smith answered with a 3-pointer, and Tyson Chandler came back with a dunk to put the Knicks up 101-94. After McCallum made two free throws, Anthonys 15-footer with 1:36 to play sent a cluster of fans to the exits, and the rest soon followed. "We know what they wanted to do," Cousins said, "but we have to go out there and execute." The Knicks already assured themselves of a losing season with an embarrassing loss in Los Angeles on Tuesday night with new team president Phil Jackson in attendance. The former Lakers coach, a longtime nemesis of Kings fans, was nowhere to be found in Sacramento on this night. Not that the Knicks shouldve needed Jacksons presence to get by a rebuilding Kings team that is far from the franchise he often led the Lakers past in the playoffs during Sacramentos glory years. New York took control in the second quarter with 20-6 run highlighted by defence and dunks. Chandler capped the spurt with an alley-oop from Smith that put the Knicks up 54-38. Anthony added two 3-pointers to extend New Yorks lead to 74-50 with 6:17 remaining in the third quarter, slapping his headband with his fingers as he backpedaled on defence each time. Smith squashed Sacramentos final rally by making all three of his 3-point attempts in the fourth, moving the Knicks playoffs hopes back in the right direction. "Ive been to (the playoffs) the last four or five years now, and to be home watching it on TV is not going to be any fun," Woodson said. "So Im desperately pushing these guys to try and get em in there, because then a new season starts and anything is possible." NOTES: The teams split the two-game season series, with each winning on the others home floor. ... The last time the Kings started rookies in the backcourt was when Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette started in a loss to Houston on April 8, 2012. ... New Yorks five-game road trip resumes Friday at Phoenix. ... Sacramento begins a three-game trip at Oklahoma City on Friday. Andre Drummond Jersey . -- The Phoenix Coyotes have won three in a row for the first time in 4 1/2 months, and theyve done it just in time for the stretch run to the playoffs. Allen Iverson Jersey .S. routed Sweden 7-0 Sunday to win its fourth straight title and seventh overall under-18 world championship. Olson earned his third shutout of the tournament and the Americans allowed only four goals in six games to set an International Ice Hockey Federation under-18 record.ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues were 2 for 2 to open the shootout. Robin Lehner was thinking, oh no, not again. The Ottawa Senators backup goalie shut the door the rest of the way and ended a career oh-fer in shootouts. "Hopefully, this will break a curse," Lehner said after Kyle Turris scored the deciding goal in the fifth round for a 5-4 Senators victory Tuesday night. "I know I can be good at it. Ive had a few bad ones in the beginning that snowballed and got in my head." Lehner had been 0-6 in shootouts, allowing 12 goals on 24 shots. It was 14 goals on 26 attempts after T.J. Oshie and Alexander Steen scored for St. Louis, but Lehner regrouped to stop Vladimir Tarasenko, Kevin Shattenkirk and Maxim Lapierre. Mika Zibanejad and Stephane Da Costa also scored in the tiebreaker for Ottawa. Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak had been 4-1 in shootouts, allowing just three goals on 16 shots. "To have the type of response we had in the third, to tie it up, to get the two points in a tough building against a very good team is huge," Turris said. "Robbie played unreal. Stood on his head." Oshie had a goal and an assist in regulation for the Blues, who lost at home to an Eastern Conference opponent for the first time in 10 games this season. St. Louis had a season-high 50 shots but squandered a two-goal cushion in the third period and missed two chances to close it out in the shootout. The Blues were 0 for 7 on the power play. St. Louis gave up a 2-1 lead in its last game at Nashville, then won in a shootout. "Were probably taking a step the wrong way when weve got the game in good hands," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Were turning pretty comfortable games into track meets." Jason Spezza had his third three-point game of the season and capped a three-goal flurry in a span of 2:35 that gave Ottawa a 4-3 lead midway through the third. Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist to give him 53 points, best among NHL defencemen. Turris also scored a goal. Blues defenceman Jordan Leopold tied it at 11:08 with his first of the season on an odd-angled shot that banged off Lehner. The attendance of 14,758 was more than 4,000 shy of capacity at the Scottrade Center, the crowd held down by a snowstorm that left roadways cloggeed. Tracy McGrady Jersey. The Blues also set a season best with 23 shots in a two-goal second period, seemingly taking control with a 3-1 lead despite coming up empty with more than 2 minutes of a two-man advantage. "I think theres things weve got to clean up," Oshie said. "I dont think weve got to get too down on ourselves. "The guys that made the mistakes, they know that they made them. Well clean them up. Were going to be fine." The puck got lodged in the netting on Oshies goal that made it 3-2, a score that went unannounced until after Oshie pointed out the pucks location and then the play was reviewed. "It was still hanging there and people started shovelling the ice and I wanted to argue my case," Oshie said. "I knew it was in." Ottawa beat Jaroslav Halak for three goals in a span of four shots in the third, with Milan Michalek and Turris scoring. The Senators bounced back from a 2-1 overtime loss at Pittsburgh a night earlier. Besides scoring his first goal in 38 games with St. Louis over two seasons, Leopold also saved one in the second period. Karlssons shot trickled between Halaks pads and was on the goal line and still sliding when the defenceman swatted it away. The game began with the promise of fisticuffs from the Blues as retribution for an elbow to the head by Ottawas Zack Smith that was blamed for the concussion that sidelined Steen for 11 games in late December. Rugged Ryan Reaves was picked to take the opening faceoff for the Blues, presumably set to square off with Smith, but both players were whistled for minor unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the opening minute and both teams settled down. Turris tied it on a pass that deflected off the skate of a Blues player at 7:02, and Spezza capitalized when the Blues failed to clear the puck out of the zone and beat Halak with a high drive that ticked off the stick of a defenceman for his 15th goal of the season and a 4-3 lead. NOTES: The Blues had outscored Eastern Conference foes 43-13 while going 9-0 to start the season. ... Leopold has six points in 22 games this season. ... Ottawa D Chris Phillips (lower body) missed his fifth straight game. ... Blues backup goalie Brian Elliott started for Ottawa in a 5-2 loss the last time the Senators played in St. Louis on Nov. 19, 2010. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Falcons Jerseys Cheap Ravens Jerseys Cheap Bills Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Bears Jerseys Cheap Bengals Jerseys Cheap Browns Jerseys Cheap Cowboys Jerseys Cheap Broncos Jerseys Cheap Lions Jerseys Cheap Packers Jerseys Cheap Texans Jerseys Cheap Colts Jerseys Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Chiefs Jerseys ' ' '
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