Times wires
Sunday, May 6, 2012
NEW YORK — Amare Stoudemire raised his hands, one covered in padding, as streamers fell from the ceiling. Finally, the Knicks could celebrate a playoff victory again.
Carmelo Anthony scored 41, Stoudemire had 20 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a cut hand, and the Knicks ended an NBA-record 13-game postseason losing streak by beating the Heat 89-87 Sunday in Game 4 of their best-of-seven first-round Eastern Conference series.
"I think it's the first of many," said Stoudemire, who played six days after he punched a fire extinguisher case. "Tonight was a great win for us, for our fans."
Anthony made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 54.5 seconds left as the Knicks overcame another serious injury to win a playoff game for the first time since beating Toronto on April 29, 2001. Point guard Baron Davis dislocated his right kneecap in the third, just as the Knicks were making a run.
"I'm just glad that we came together after that, kept our composure," Anthony said.
LeBron James scored 27 for the Heat, and Dwyane Wade had 22 but missed a 3-pointer on the last possession.
MIAMI (87): Haslem 3-5 0-0 6, James 9-21 7-8 27, Bosh 4-10 9-10 17, Wade 9-18 4-11 22, Chalmers 2-10 2-4 6, Miller 1-5 0-0 3, Battier 1-2 0-0 2, J.Anthony 1-2 2-2 4, Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-73 24-35 87.
NEW YORK (89): C.Anthony 15-29 10-14 41, Stoudemire 8-13 4-7 20, Chandler 0-2 1-2 1, Fields 2-4 1-2 5, Davis 0-4 2-2 2, Smith 3-15 0-0 7, Novak 1-2 0-0 3, Bibby 2-5 0-0 6, Jeffries 0-0 0-0 0, Harrellson 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 32-75 20-29 89.
Miami 18 26 17 26— 87
New York 20 18 26 25— 89
3-Point Goals—Miami 3-19 (James 2-5, Miller 1-5, Battier 0-1, Bosh 0-1, Wade 0-3, Chalmers 0-4), New York 5-22 (Bibby 2-4, Novak 1-1, C.Anthony 1-4, Smith 1-8, Fields 0-1, Davis 0-4). Fouled Out—Haslem, Chandler. Rebounds—Miami 52 (Bosh 9), N.Y. 54 (Stoudemire 10). Assists—Miami 20 (Wade 6), N.Y. 16 (Smith, C.Anthony 4). Total Fouls—Miami 26, N.Y. 29. Technicals—Miami defensive three second, Chandler. A—19,763.
76ers eye history now
PHILADELPHIA — Showing no fear after missing his first five 3-point attempts, Jrue Holiday hit consecutive 3-pointers that stretched a one-point lead into seven and helped the 76ers beat the Bulls 89-82 to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.
Now the top-seeded Bulls suddenly fear elimination.
Spencer Hawes scored 22 points and Holiday had 20 to put the 76ers one win away from joining the short list of eighth-seeded teams that have won a series against a No. 1 seed. That list includes Memphis eliminating San Antonio last season. Golden State (2007), New York (1999) and Denver (1994) also pulled off the feat.
"I'm not worried about it," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We do have more than enough to win with."
CHICAGO (82): Deng 5-11 0-1 11, Boozer 11-24 1-1 23, Asik 0-1 1-2 1, Watson 5-18 6-6 17, Hamilton 3-9 1-1 7, Gibson 6-11 2-3 14, Brewer 0-2 0-0 0, Korver 2-4 0-0 5, Lucas 2-5 0-0 4, Butler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-85 11-14 82.
PHILADELPHIA (89): Iguodala 5-11 3-4 14, Brand 3-7 1-4 7, Hawes 9-11 3-4 22, Holiday 7-23 4-4 20, Turner 3-12 3-6 9, Williams 2-10 2-3 7, T.Young 2-4 4-4 8, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Meeks 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 31-79 22-31 89.
Chicago 15 27 21 19— 82
Philadelphia 24 20 20 25— 89
3-Point Goals—Chicago 3-11 (Korver 1-2, Deng 1-3, Watson 1-5, Lucas 0-1), Philadelphia 5-19 (Holiday 2-7, Hawes 1-2, Iguodala 1-4, Williams 1-5, Meeks 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Chicago 55 (Gibson 12), Philadelphia 56 (Iguodala 12). Assists—Chicago 21 (Boozer, Watson 4), Philadelphia 16 (Holiday 6). Total Fouls—Chicago 23, Philadelphia 18. Technicals—Philadelphia defensive three second. A—20,412.
Celtics improve edge
BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored 24 in 18 minutes and the Celtics opened a 37-point third-quarter lead before coasting to a 101-79 victory over the Hawks to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
Pierce limped off the court favoring his left knee midway through the second quarter, but he returned for the start of the third. He was on the court as Boston scored 16 of the first 18 points in the second half.
"We had a lot of things going on on our bench today with bodies," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "The whole game I kept looking down there (to see if) there were enough guys to put in the game."
ATLANTA (79): Jo.Johnson 4-8 1-2 9, Smith 5-13 5-6 15, Collins 0-0 0-0 0, Teague 3-9 1-1 7, Hinrich 1-3 0-0 2, Horford 6-10 0-0 12, M.Williams 2-6 3-3 8, McGrady 1-3 0-0 2, Pargo 4-11 0-0 11, Radmanovic 0-3 0-0 0, Dampier 3-6 2-3 8, Green 2-3 0-0 4, I.Johnson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 31-76 13-17 79.
BOSTON (101): Pierce 10-13 0-1 24, Bass 3-9 4-4 10, Garnett 6-8 1-1 13, Rondo 8-11 2-5 20, Bradley 2-7 1-2 6, Allen 5-9 0-0 12, Stiemsma 1-1 0-0 2, Pietrus 0-2 0-0 0, Daniels 2-5 0-0 4, Dooling 4-6 0-0 10, Hollins 0-4 0-0 0, Moore 0-4 0-0 0, Pavlovic 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 41-80 8-13 101.
Atlanta 19 22 22 16— 79
Boston 32 32 26 11— 101
3-Point Goals—Atlanta 4-20 (Pargo 3-8, M.Williams 1-2, Jo.Johnson 0-1, Radmanovic 0-2, Hinrich 0-2, Smith 0-2, Teague 0-3), Boston 11-26 (Pierce 4-6, Allen 2-3, Rondo 2-3, Dooling 2-4, Bradley 1-5, Pavlovic 0-1, Moore 0-2, Pietrus 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Atlanta 49 (Smith 13), Boston 44 (Garnett, Allen, Bass 5). Assists—Atlanta 18 (Smith 5), Boston 24 (Rondo 16). Total Fouls—Atlanta 15, Boston 20. Flagrant Fouls—Teague. A—18,624.
Lakers up advantage
DENVER — Kobe Bryant scored 22 and Andrew Bynum 19 as the Lakers beat the Nuggets 92-88 to take a 3-1 series lead and put Denver on the verge of elimination.
Late Sat.: Spurs 109, Jazz 90
SAN ANTONIO (102): Leonard 1-3 0-0 2, Duncan 7-15 3-4 17, Diaw 0-3 2-2 2, Parker 10-17 7-8 27, Green 5-12 3-4 14, Ginobili 2-6 2-2 6, Bonner 1-2 0-0 3, Jackson 5-9 0-0 13, Splitter 5-8 0-2 10, Neal 2-3 0-0 6, Blair 1-2 0-0 2, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-80 17-22 102.
UTAH (90): Howard 2-2 0-0 5, Millsap 4-12 1-4 9, Jefferson 10-18 1-2 21, Harris 8-15 2-4 21, Hayward 1-10 2-2 4, Favors 5-14 5-10 15, Tinsley 0-2 0-0 0, Kanter 1-3 0-0 2, Burks 4-10 3-4 11, Carroll 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 36-89 14-26 90.
San Antonio 30 22 23 27— 102
Utah 28 22 18 22— 90
3-Point Goals—San Antonio 7-20 (Jackson 3-5, Neal 2-3, Bonner 1-2, Green 1-5, Leonard 0-1, Duncan 0-1, Diaw 0-1, Ginobili 0-2), Utah 4-13 (Harris 3-5, Howard 1-1, Burks 0-1, Tinsley 0-1, Hayward 0-5). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—San Antonio 44 (Splitter 8), Utah 67 (Favors, Jefferson, Millsap 11). Assists—San Antonio 21 (Ginobili 10), Utah 18 (Harris, Hayward 5). Total Fouls—San Antonio 20, Utah 18. A—19,911.