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Wednesdays pre-season game was the first

NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and the New York Knicks opened the Phil Jackson era by beating the Indiana Pacers 92-86 Wednesday night for their season-high seventh straight victory. Custom Chicago Bears Jerseys . With their new team president watching from a midcourt seat, the Knicks dominated the first half, then pulled away after the Eastern Conference leaders finally got untracked in the second half. Fans stood to cheer Jackson in the first quarter and were on their feet again in the final minute to watch the Knicks beat the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. Lance Stephenson had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who had their four-game winning streak snapped and failed to extend their three-game lead over the Miami Heat, who lost to Boston earlier Wednesday. Roy Hibbert scored 20 on 8-of-10 shooting, but All-Star Paul George missed all six first-quarter shots and finished 4 for 17 for his 17 points. New Yorks previous six wins had all come against non-playoff teams, but this was against a team that seemingly had returned to form after dropping a season-worst four in a row. Amare Stoudemire added 21 points and Tyson Chandler grabbed 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who are four games behind Atlanta for the final East playoff spot. Jackson met with coaches and players earlier Wednesday, then watched the game from a seat above centre court, receiving a loud standing ovation when shown on the overhead screen during a first-quarter timeout. The 11-time champion as a coach also was on the Knicks only two title-winning teams as a player, and there was a different energy in the building during whats been a hugely disappointing season before recent days. Mike Woodson said before the game he wasnt angry that Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan had originally talked to Jackson in December about the coaching job, adding that "the city should be buzzing" over his return. (Not all of it is; a group of fans frustrated with Dolans mismanagement of the franchise went through with a previously planned protest outside the arena before the game). Anthony said he was excited about the hire, but that it was difficult to think about that with the players trying to focus on the game as they try to make a late run for a playoff spot. Hibbert scored 14 points in the third quarter to help Indiana wipe out nearly all of a 16-point deficit, and it was just a one-point game early in the fourth when George made just his second field goal. But the Knicks answered with eight in a row, going ahead 75-66 on Stoudemires basket with 7:57 remaining, and Anthony spun for a dunk and knocked down a jumper for consecutive scores after Indiana trimmed it to five with under 4 minutes to go. Woodson improved to 45-16 in March and April as Knicks coach, but New York faces an uphill climb to dig out of the hole a 2-11 February created. The Knicks shot 24 per cent in the first quarter, missing all five 3-point attempts, but had a 21-14 lead after going 9 of 10 from the free throw line. New York ran off 12 in a row to open its biggest lead at 39-23 on Stoudemires basket midway through the second, and the Pacers could only trim that to 47-35 at halftime NOTES: Andrew Bynum will be out the rest of the week resting his sore right knee. The centre aggravated his troublesome knee after playing Saturday against Detroit, his second appearance since signing with the Pacers. He has averaged 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds thus far. ... Indiana won both earlier meetings and was trying to sweep the series for the first time since 2007-08. Dan Hampton Womens Jersey . "All he says is, its crazy," DeMar DeRozan told reporters following Torontos win over the Pistons Wednesday. The Raptors longest-serving members, Johnson and DeRozan have had two coaches and 56 different teammates in five seasons with the club, all without appearing in a single playoff game. Mike Singletary Womens Jersey .Y. - The Philadelphia Eagles game at Green Bay against the Packers on Nov. SYLVAN LAKE, Alta. -- Sven Baertschi knows he has to back up a smart decision and a pivotal goal with many more of both to be a regular in the NHL. The Calgary Flames forward scored with nine seconds remaining in the second period Wednesday to deadlock a pre-season game against the Arizona Coyotes. After a scoreless third, Curtis Glencross scored the overtime winner for Calgary in a 4-3 victory in Sylvan Lake, Alta. Baertschi came off his final major junior season to join the Flames playing out the string in 2012. Calgarys first-round pick and the No. 13 selection in 2011 inflated expectations with three goals in his first five games with the team. The 21-year-old Swiss forward has played more games in the American Hockey League than with the parent club in the two seasons since then. When Brian Burke joined the Flames a year ago as president of hockey operations, he wasnt complimentary of Baertschi with comments like "big holes" and "lack of commitment." "I realized a little while ago now, coming into the league, its a different game and every decision you make has got to be the right decision," Baertschi said. "Ive been working on it really hard and doing a lot of video. Its the little details out there I want to do right. "I think Im making some really good decisions with the puck. Im not being selfish out there, but Im trying to hold onto the puck a little longer. Its something Ive been working on all summer, so its paying off now. "I want to prove I can play in this league." Sylvan Lake won this years Kraft Hockeyville contest, which included a grant of $100,000 for arena upgrades, as well as the right to host an NHL pre-season game. The community of 13,000 is just west of Red Deer. With a capacity of just under 1,000, the Sylvan Lake Multi-Plex was full and speckled with a few blue Oilers jerseys among red Flames shirts. Local products Glencross and defenceman Kris Russell added to the sense of occasion by combining on the overtime winner. Glencross, who grew up in Prevost, re-directed Russells shot from the blue-line for a power-play goal at 3:50. Russell is from nearby Caroline. The roof of the aging Sylvan Lake Arena next door to the Multi-Plex collapsed in January. The city intends to raise $2 million for a multiplex redevelopment project. "Russ and I both skated in the old barn quite a bit back in the day," Glencross said. "He made a great shot and I got lucky enough to get my stick on it." Deryk Engelland and Brian McGrattan also scored for the Flames, who are 2-1-0 in the pre-season. "I told the players this morning remember those people coming to the game, they had to fight real hard to get this game," Flames head coach Bob Hartley said. "Im sure there were lotss of other great cities that could have this game and since its very close to our market, I think we owed this game to the fans. Richard Dent Jersey. " B.J. Crombeen had a goal and an assist and Matt Kassian and Joe Vitale also scored for Arizona. Defenceman Chris Summers had two assists, but was serving a holding penalty when Glencross scored the winner. Calgary killed off three Arizona power-play chances in the third period and to start overtime. Arizona goalie Mike McKenna stopped 25 of 28 shots through two periods in his first pre-season action. Brendan Burke turned aside seven of eight in the third and overtime. Burke is the son of Arizona goaltending coach Sean Burke, who played 18 seasons in the NHL. After 11 saves on 14 shots, Calgarys Joni Ortio was replaced after two periods by Doug Carr, who stopped all 12 he faced in the third and extra period. McKenna got a piece of Baertschis sharp-angled shot as the second period wound down, but the puck trickled under the goaltenders arm and into the net. "A game like tonight, I think I was really comfortable and didnt make too many bad decisions," Baertschi said. "For me, one of the things Ive been working on is figuring out when to pass and when to shoot. Thats a big part of decision making. At that point, I knew I didnt have any support coming from behind and it went in and I was happy." Arizona led 3-2 at 3:06 when Brandon Gormleys shot from the top of the face-off circle deflected off Crombeens leg and into Calgarys net. Flames enforcer McGrattan scored at 1:59 when he banked in a goal-mouth pass from Markus Granlund. With Calgary trailing 2-0, Edmonton native Engelland threaded a high wrist shot through traffic to halve the deficit with a power-play goal at 19:06. Arizonas Vitale batted a rebound out of the air by Ortio at 12:58. Kassian, another Edmontonian invited to Arizonas camp on a try-out contract, also scored on a rebound from the slot at 8:56. The Coyotes finished one spot out of a playoff berth last season at 37-30-15, while the Flames were well out of the post-season at 35-40-7. "We all know and it doesnt really mean nothing right now, but we played 49 games last year decided by one goal," Hartley said. "I keep repeating to our guys, we have to keep making big strides and learning to win those types of games. Come Game 1 of the regular season, whatever we will have done here as a result will not count, but if we can learn those little details well be a better team." Wednesdays pre-season game was the first of three in as many days for the Flames, who host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday in Calgary and play in Vancouver on Friday. The Coyotes are in San Jose on Friday to face the Sharks and are in Vancouver on Monday. ' ' '
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