Lance Stephenson Goes Coast-to-Coast on the Knicks, Goes Right Through Raymond Felton 
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Watch Klay Thompson Get Buckets in High School The Knicks Survive; Philly Is The Best Team No One Is Talking About
Carmelo Anthony (photo. Zach Wolfe)
The Knicks haven’t exactly been outclassing people, but a win is a win even if it took them all of 48 minutes to get one over the Bobcats. Carmelo Anthony (6-for-18, 22 points) struggled for most of the night, but when it counted he hit the buckets and free throws, and gobbled up enough boards to send New York home with a much-needed four-point win. Charlotte had their chances. Down one in the final 20 seconds, D.J. White missed a crazy jumper off the bounce (who drew that one up?). Then, D.J. Augustin (12 points, eight boards) hit a wild three on the following possession to make it a one-point game. After two ‘Melo free throws, Augustin got another wide-open wing three and just tried to aim it a little too much … Tyson Chandler (20 points, 13 rebounds) and Amar’e Stoudemire (25 points, 12 rebounds, but you could tell he said “Screw it, I’m getting my numbers” last night. Dude was 7-for-25 from the field.) put up big numbers next to Anthony. We’ve mentioned this before, but is this the best frontcourt in the league? … Who caught the back-to-back sequence in the middle of the third quarter when the Knicks threw down two straight rim wreckers? First, Iman Shumpert (16 points) stole a pass and ripped one on the break in front of Diaw. Of course, dunking on the Frenchman isn’t all that special. But when you combined it with the next possession – a lob from ‘Melo to Chandler that was so nice, Chandler probably had dreams of CP – it all brought the Garden to their feet. Is there any other fanbase in the game that would serenade their team with chants for a rookie bench player? We mean, Shumpert’s a nice player and is already making some noise as a freshman, but c’mon New York. Wasn’t it just last year that Landry Fields was going to be the next man of the hour in New York? We guess they’ve moved on already … We have to give Florida Evans…we mean Paul Silas some credit this year. Charlotte is only 2-7 but when you’re relying on Fat Magic (Boris Diaw), who had 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and D.J. Augustin (who’s been balling this year) on a team that gets so disrespected the Knicks PA announcer actually introduced them as the Charlotte Hornets last night, what do you expect? They’ve at least been competitive … The other New York-area team, the Nets, put up a fight against Atlanta, but couldn’t quite overcome a late 12-point deficit because every one of the Hawks’ starters put in work. Josh Smith had his best game of the season with 26 points on 14 shots and Jeff Teague added 20 of his own. Joe Johnson emerged from underneath his giant pile of money to score 22 points and hit four game-clinching free throws in the final seconds (Don’t underestimate how huge that was for Atlanta. They’re not exactly known for making clutch free throws.). It’s amazing Atlanta is where they are right now (7-3) considering JJ has been terrible this whole year. He was bad last season. But now? How does 16/3/3 on 39 percent shooting sound? … For New Jersey fans, take solace in having MarShon Brooks (19 points, 10 rebounds). But Deron Williams (15 points, 14 assists) is stuck in one of those instances that always suck for the fans: one of the best players in the world stashed on a terrible team in the middle of his prime. He’ll never get this year back … Keep reading to hear about the best team no one is talking about …
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