NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony was aware of the standings and the injury report. With Amare Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin out and Milwaukee in town, the New York Knicks couldnt afford more of the mediocre Melo. "Tonight it was a game we had to win," Anthony said. "And I wanted to do everything in my power to do it." Anthony scored 28 points, delivering his highest total in two months without the injured Stoudemire and Lin, and the Knicks beat the Bucks 89-80 on Monday night to increase their lead for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth. Shortly after learning Stoudemire was lost indefinitely with a bulging disk in his back, the Knicks opened a 2 1/2-game lead over the Bucks and prevented Milwaukee from winning the season series and clinching the tiebreaker if they finish with the same record. Anthony, long one of the NBAs elite scorers, hadnt even reached 20 points in his last seven games. The Knicks won six of them, with Stoudemire leading the team in scoring over the last four. But with Stoudemire and Lin gone, the Knicks were missing about 32 points per game, and even with their stronger defensive play, some of that had to be replaced. "Ive just got to step my game up," Anthony said. "Weve been winning. As far as scoring the basketball, we really havent been needing that. Its been pretty much spread out but now with them two guys, there aint no telling whats the situation with them. So its just time for me to step my game up in all aspects." Baron Davis scored 13 points but shot 3 for 12 with nine turnovers in his first start in place of Lin, who has a sore right knee. Tyson Chandler also had 13 and Iman Shumpert 11 as the Knicks overcame the absences of their second- and third-leading scorers. But they won this one with defence, limiting Milwaukee to 36.5 per cent shooting and containing high-scoring guards Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis. Jennings shot 6 of 22 for 15 points, and Ellis made only two of 14 shots for four points. Mike Dunleavy scored 26 points for the Bucks, but missed all three shots in a scoreless fourth quarter after he was 10 of 11 through three. "We just tried to keep them as uncomfortable as possible and the rest is just the basketball gods telling them theyre not going to make shots today," Shumpert said. The Knicks won for the seventh time in eight games despite shooting just 35 per cent, while Milwaukee lost for only the third time in its last 10. The Bucks had won five straight road games and suffered a rare loss at Madison Square Garden, where they had won six of seven. "I dont think either team played particularly well," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "I thought there were moments out there that were very un-NBAlike. It wasnt high-level quality from both teams, and somebody had to win and they won." Anthony hadnt scored this many since netting 35 points on Jan. 20 in a loss to the Bucks. But he said before the game he needed to step it up a notch after learning that Stoudemire would be sidelined, and came through despite tweaking his groin muscle again. Anthony has battled that and other injuries along with an erratic shot this season, and though he insisted he wasnt worried about his offence, Chandler said hes noticed his All-Star teammate getting frustrated with himself. "I could just see it. I think hes been playing great personally," Chandler said. "Hes just an aggressive scorer and the greats love the pressure, and they get down on themselves when they feel like theyre not playing up to their expectations." Stoudemire left the Knicks victory over Detroit on Saturday after saying his back tightened up. An MRI on Monday afternoon revealed the injury, which the Knicks said wont require surgery. He had led them in scoring in four straight games, and the Knicks remember from their playoff loss to Boston last year how tough it is without Stoudemire. Itll be easier if they keep defending like this. The Knicks outscored the Bucks 21-12 in the third quarter to take the lead despite shooting just 3 of 21 from the field. They went 15 of 18 from the free throw line while Milwaukee didnt attempt one. New York pushed it to 84-74 on JR Smiths 3-pointer with 4:38 remaining, and after Milwaukee scored six in a row, Shumperts 3-poiner with 2:09 to go put it away at 87-80. "We missed a lot of gimmes, a lot of shots that we normally make," said Jennings, who scored 36 points in a victory here earlier this season. The Bucks started 3 of 15 as the Knicks raced to a 20-10 lead before Dunleavy checked in. He scored 14 points in the final 3:42, making all five shots, as Milwaukee trimmed it to 30-26. Dunleavy fueled a 12-0 burst in the second quarter with 10 points as Milwaukee turned a three-point deficit into a 49-40 advantage on his layup with 3:02 to go. He had 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting in just 13 minutes as the Bucks took a 52-47 lead into halftime. Notes: Bucks F Carlos Delfino played just 13 minutes before leaving with an injured right groin. ... The teams meet again in Milwaukee on April 11. ... Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson was coaching his 500th NBA game. He is 213-287.
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Cheap MLB Jerseys . It was well worth the wait. Manning and the Denver Broncos waited eight long months, then another 33 minutes to get the season started because of a lightning storm. BALTIMORE -- There have been times this season when Jeremy Guthrie pitched well and didnt get much support. There have also been occasions when he was admittedly lousy. So when Guthrie handcuffed the Boston Red Sox and received ample offensive backing from his Baltimore Orioles teammates in a 6-2 victory Tuesday night, the losingest pitcher in the majors was delighted with the rare sequence of events. Guthrie allowed two runs in seven innings, and the Orioles got successive eighth-inning home runs from Derrek Lee and Mark Reynolds in ending a seven-game losing streak against the Red Sox. "Good game there. The late runs were huge for us and we played great defence," Guthrie said. "This is a win that makes me feel really good, and I think the team feels good about it." Guthrie (4-13) came in with the sixth-lowest run support in the AL, but he also gave up 12 runs over 10 innings in his prior two starts. In this one, Baltimore went ahead 3-0 after three innings and the right-hander made the lead stand up. It was Guthries second win in 11 starts, but the drought appeared even longer to some. "It seemed like he didnt have a win since 07," Orioles centre-fielder Adam Jones said. "Thats what it feels like. We got him an early lead and he was able to settle down, get comfortable." Guthrie gave up eight hits, struck out four and walked one. He had lost seven straight decisions against Boston since May 13, 2008. Jim Johnson worked two innings for his first save. Orioles closer Kevin Gregg was unavailable because he was serving a three-game suspension for his involvement in a bench-clearing melee at Fenway Park on July 8. During its seven-game skid against the Red Sox, Baltimore was outscored 61-32, so this victory was particularly enjoyable. "We needed a win against them. Theyve been wearing us out," Lee said. "Jeremy gave us just what we needed, a great pitching performance. He went deep. Its nice when you can hand the ball over to J.J. with a lead. Youre feeling pretty confident at that point." The Red Sox lost for only the third time in 16 games despite getting a home run from Jarrod Saltalamacchia, his second in two nights. Josh Reddick had three hits and scored a run. Bostons Dustin Pedroia beat out a grounder in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 17 gaames, tying a career high set in 2008.dddddddddddd He has also reached base in 29 consecutive games, which also matches his career-best run. After lasting only four innings against Baltimore on July 10 in his major league debut, Kyle Weiland (0-1) displayed far more poise in the encore. The right-hander allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. "I did a better job of controlling my emotions, and the adrenaline," Weiland said. "I got a lot quicker to that comfort zone that I was talking about last time." It was an outing similar to many by Guthrie this season. "He pitched well," Reddick said, referring to Weiland. "Unfortunately, we didnt give him the run support that anybody would want. But he battled his tail off." Guthrie faced a lineup without Bostons leading home run hitter, David Ortiz, who is also serving a three-game suspension stemming from the fight in the previous series between the teams. The game drew a crowd of 32,314, many of whom were cheering for the Red Sox. Its a common occurrence at Camden Yards when Boston comes to town, although Orioles manager Buck Showalter wasnt complaining. "Well, we had a lot of Red Sox people here last night," he said before the game. "Well take their admission and put it towards keeping our players. Thank you very much." Baltimore went up 2-0 in the second inning when Jones and Matt Wieters singled, Reynolds hit an RBI double and Nolan Reimould followed with a run-scoring grounder. Weiland retired the first two batters in the third before Nick Markakis drew a walk, Jones singled and Wieters bounced an RBI single off the glove of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Saltalamacchia made it 3-2 in the fifth with a drive over the right-field scoreboard after Reddick hit a leadoff double. Boston then put runners on the corners with two outs before Pedroia grounded out. The Red Sox didnt get another runner past first base the rest of the way. Lee hit a two-run shot and Reynolds added his 21st homer of the season in the eighth. Both drives came off Alfredo Aceves. NOTES: Bostons Jacoby Ellsbury hit into a DP for only the sixth time in 383 at-bats. ... Markakis 11-game hitting streak ended. ... It was only the fourth win in 19 games for the last-place Orioles. ... Reynolds broke out of a 5-for-39 skid with three hits.
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