with their execution," Chamblin said. "Theyre b

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- 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. Fake Nike MLB Jerseys .C. -- Eric Staal kept his focus after his apparent breakaway goal was waived off early in the third period. MLB Jerseys China . The Cavaliers first-year forward will miss at least three weeks with a strained left knee, the latest setback for the No. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/ .com Tours season-opening Colombia Championship on Sunday, breaking the course record with an 8-under 63 in the completion of the third round before rain washed out play. Discount MLB Jerseys . DArnaud hit one of three doubles for the Mets as they took a 4-0 lead in the first. Then the catchers seventh home run of the season broke the game open in the fifth. The 41-year-old Colon (10-8) retired the first 20 batters in his last outing Wednesday against Seattle, eventually allowing two runs on three hits in 7 1-3 innings in a 3-2 win. MLB Jerseys Outlet . Dalton completed his only pass and led the Bengals to a touchdown in his only drive -- one that took four minutes to finish -- and the Cincinnati Bengals ended the preseason with a 27-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night.REGINA - Rob Bagg has been with the Roughriders long enough to know that football is always a hot topic in Regina. Saskatchewan is coming off a 48-15 blowout loss to the Toronto Argonauts last week. As a result, countless hours of radio talk-show banter and roundtable discussions were devoted to the surprising rout as the highly scrutinized Roughriders fell to 1-1. "Any time you lose youre going to be frustrated or disappointed, all of those natural feelings," Bagg said. "But it is a six-month season and just like every play, you have to reload and move on to the next one. "Were playing B.C. this week and theres nothing we can do about what happened in Toronto." Saskatchewan made some significant moves in preparation for Saturdays home game against the winless B.C. Lions (0-2). Catch the game live on TSN as the back end of a doubleheader starting at 10pm et/7pm pt. Less than 48 hours after the loss to the Argos, the Riders dealt veteran halfback Dwight Anderson to Toronto. On Wednesday, the Riders signed former 1,000-yard rusher Jerome Messam. The 29-year-old Messam, who was cut by the Montreal Alouettes last month, is expected to dress for Saturdays game. The transactions have created a buzz in what has been anything but a calm week for the defending Grey Cup champions. "We knew after Week 1 that we were in for a test (in Toronto)," said Riders defensive end John Chick. "They had a rough week the week before and we knew they were going to come back corrected. They were better prepared in all areas than what we were. "Its nothing about the sky falling here or anything like that. Its about making corrections. We expect perfection and we expect to be a championship team. A performance like last week makes us realize that we have some work to do." Second-year Riders defensive back Macho Harris will take Andersons starting spot in the secondary, while Messam shoulld get his feet wet on special teams versus the Lions.dddddddddddd Meanwhile, running back Hugh Charles will get the starting assignment over Anthony Allen, who has started the previous two weeks. Allen leads the CFL in rushing with 224 yards but has fumbled in each of the first two games this season. Tristan Black has been pushing starter Sam Hurl at the weakside linebacker position this week at practice and should see more playing time versus the Lions. Slotback Chris Getzlaf wont play Saturday because of a nagging quadriceps injury and fullback Neal Hughes wont dress because of a foot injury. Riders head coach Corey Chamblin is optimistic his team has moved on from the lopsided loss and is taking in stride the bevy of roster changes ahead of the B.C. game. He likes what he has seen at practice this week. "I was pleased with their energy and I was pleased with their execution," Chamblin said. "Theyre bouncing back, theyre not looking back and theyre moving forward. Guys are starting to become leaders, new guys are starting to become more vocal and theyre starting to open up and trust one another. "Before long, well have the makings of a good team." The Riders expect a hungry Lions team that has dropped its first two games of the season, most recently a 24-9 defeat to the Montreal Alouettes. Quarterback Kevin Glenn, who is filling in for Travis Lulay, has thrown six interceptions in those two losses and running back Andrew Harris has just 63 rushing yards over that span. Both the Lions and Riders will be looking to bounce back from poor performances in Week 2. "Its never as bad as you think it was and its never as good as you think it was," Bagg said. "Most of what happened (in Toronto) didnt have anything to do with the plays. It was more to do with poor execution … and we just need to work better individually and that will take care of itself as a whole." ' ' '