57-53 lead. Oklahoma City shot 56 per cent in the first

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Its over. Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds as the New York Knicks snapped their franchise-record 16-game losing streak following a 99-92 victory over the Anthony Davis-less New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. The Pelicans trimmed a 15-point first half deficit to a point with under two minutes left when Tyreke Evans connected on a runner in the paint. Omer Asik was called for a foul with less than a second on the shot clock a bit later and with the time winding down again, Anthony found a wide open Jose Calderon in the right corner. Calderon, who had been 1-of-9 at that point, nailed the 3-pointer to stake the Knicks to a 96-92 advantage with 32.7 seconds left. Ryan Anderson was off on a right corner triple at the other end and Anthony sealed the outcome by making 3-of-4 from the foul line down the stretch. Langston Galloway netted 21 points and Amare Stoudemire added 14 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Knicks, who hadnt won since Dec. 12 against the Boston Celtics. They turned the ball over just four times. New Orleans was not only without Davis for a third straight game due to a left toe sprain, Jrue Holiday also missed his third consecutive contest due to right ankle imflammation. Evans finished with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Asik added 11 points and 17 boards for New Orleans, which has dropped five of its last eight games. New Orleans early 5-4 edge was its last lead of the game, but the Knicks went on a 16-4 run to pull ahead. Anthony posted 10 points during the surge and a Lance Thomas hook shot gave the Knicks a 20-9 margin. They were up 22-16 following a quarter of play and increased the spread to 53-38 after Galloway knocked down a pair of treys in the waning moments of the first half. The Knicks took a 53-41 cushion into the break and 78-65 advantage into the fourth. Evans concluded an 8-2 Pelicans spurt with a layup to whittle the gap to 91-88 with 3:13 to play. Game Notes The Knicks had lost the last nine games by an average of 19.2 points ... New Orleans has dropped seven of its last nine contests on the road ... The Pelicans held a 50-34 rebounding and 46-32 points in the paint advantage ... Jason Smith had 12 points and six assists for New York. James Worthy Lakers Jersey . The 29-year-old German, the 2011 overall World Cup champion, says she has decided "to end my career now. Custom Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . -- Chris Jones and Louisville have done a tremendous job protecting the basketball this season and thats led to easy victories. http://www.lakersteamofficial.com/Derek-Fisher-Lakers-Jersey/ .com) - Jenny Boucek is the new head coach of the Seattle Storm. Wilt Chamberlain Jersey .Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday. Kyle Kuzma Lakers Jersey . Knapp defeated American Alison Riske 6-3, 7-5 to secure Italys victory in the best-of-five series. She held a 5-2 lead in the second set, only to let Riske tie it at five. OKLAHOMA CITY -- Serge Ibaka pointed to the sky, soaking in the cheers from the adoring home crowd moments before coming out of a game that just a few days earlier, he never imagined he could play. He scored 15 points in a dramatic return from what was thought to be a season-ending left calf strain, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 106-97 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. Ibaka started after missing the first two games of the series. The Thunder originally said he would miss the rest of the playoffs, but changed course Friday. His presence helped the Thunder dominate and cut the Spurs lead in the series to 2-1. Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks took Ibaka out with 3:17 remaining and the Thunder ahead by 20. "When you talk about a teammate, thats everything you want in a teammate," Thunder forward Kevin Durant said. "I gained so much more respect for Serge for sacrificing himself for the team. Regardless of what happened tonight, thats something you want beside you." Ibaka made six of seven shots and was a threat that gave Durant and Russell Westbrook relief. Westbrook had 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Durant added 25 points and 10 rebounds. On defence, Ibaka was a strong physical presence who blocked and altered shots and used his still formidable mobility to close out on shooters. He had seven rebounds, four blocks and a seemingly endless amount of energy. "Serge has put so much work in throughout the season that missing a couple of days didnt hurt him," Westbrook said. "Tonight, he jumped right back into where he was." Manu Ginobili scored 23 points and Tim Duncan added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Oklahoma City. The Thunder outrebounded the Spurs 52-36 after losing the battle of the boards in the first two games. San Antonio, which shot at least 50 per cent in the first two games, shot just 40 per cent on Sunday night. The first two games looked like a layup drill for the Spurs. This time, they were forced to reset numerous times. The passes were not as quick or as easy. "I was very disappointed that we didnt come out with more of a foot in the neck sort of attitude," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "t;They killed us on the boards, they beat us in 50-50 balls and thats very disappointing to me.dddddddddddd." San Antonio won Game 2 112-77, leaving the Thunder humiliated. "I knew that we were a better team than losing by 30," Brooks said. "Its not us. It was us that night, but were a much better team than that. I have a lot of respect for San Antonio, but theyre not that much better than us." Things were different from the start with Ibakas return. Brooks also inserted speedy Reggie Jackson into the starting lineup in Thabo Sefoloshas place. Jackson finished with 15 points. "We bounced back tonight. We always talk about that bounce-back ability and we had that tonight," Brooks said. The crowd roared when Ibakas name was announced during pregame introductions, and it got even louder when he started playing. He had eight points, three rebounds and two blocks in just over six minutes of play in the first quarter. Twice in the final minute of the first half, Ginobili hit 3-pointers, and both times, Westbrook answered with a 3-pointer. The last one, with 0.6 seconds left, gave the Thunder a 57-53 lead. Oklahoma City shot 56 per cent in the first half but turned the ball over 12 times. Ginobili had 20 points and made 5 of 7 3-pointers before the break to keep the Spurs close. Oklahoma City extended its lead to 83-76 at the end of the third quarter. A runner by Durant, then a 3-pointer by Caron Butler pushed the Thunder lead to 90-76 with just over 10 minutes to play. "Hopefully we realize that if were not intense, not very sharp and dont hustle like crazy, were not going to win here," Ginobili said. "They showed us reality. Hopefully we react in game four and play a much better game." Notes: Thunder C Kendrick Perkins picked up his third foul eight minutes into the game. He played just 13 minutes and finished with four points and three rebounds. Backup centre Steven Adams, a rookie, had seven points and nine rebounds. ... Thunder G Derek Fisher took a hit and was bleeding from the top of his head in the first quarter. He got six stitches. ... The Thunder shot 63 per cent from the field in the first quarter but trailed 29-28 at the end of the period. ... Ginobili scored just three points in the second half. ' ' '