Stars und Sternchen! » New York Knicks are making is backward

NEW YORK -- Nearly halfway through their homestand, more than halfway through their season, and the only move the New York Knicks are making is backward. Evan Turner scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Thaddeus Young made a key 3-pointer on a play the Knicks admittedly botched, and the Philadelphia 76ers send New York to a fifth straight loss with a 110-106 victory on Wednesday night. Blowing a favourable portion of their schedule, the Knicks fell to 15-27, a season after losing 28 games total in winning the Atlantic Division. "This is the time right here to make up ground and were not," guard J.R. Smith said. "Were playing better on the road than we are at home and it should be the other way around if anything." Michael Carter-Williams and Young each added 19 points for the 76ers, who won for just the second time in nine games. James Anderson finished with 18 points as Philadelphia outrebounded New York 54-39 to snap a three-game skid. "Our team was good tonight. We played good team defence and we ended it with rebounds," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "So Im happy that we came in here and found a way to get a win and it was through our defence." Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points after a slow start for the Knicks, who were at least competitive after losing the previous four by a combined 75 points. They are 0-3 on an eight-game homestand that matches a franchise record. But its not helping the Knicks at all, as they started their second half with another loss after going 15-26 through the midpoint of their schedule. With that in mind, Brown said he expected to see an "angry team" that wanted to fix things. Instead, the Knicks started slowly and finished poorly. "I really dont know what it is, why we cant play well on our own home court," Anthony said. "This should be the time where we gain some momentum, gain some confidence as a team playing here on our own home court, but that dont seem like its the case right now." After trailing most of the game, the Knicks ran off 10 straight points to open the fourth quarter and take a 90-84 lead on Tim Hardaway Jr.s three-point play. Philadelphia then held New York without a basket for more than 5 minutes and moved back into the lead at 96-92 on consecutive 3-poiners by Carter-Williams and Turner. "Really big for us to come back," Carter-Williams said. "We stayed together, stayed as a team, shared the ball at the end and we executed down the stretch." Smith ended the Knicks drought with a 3-pointer, but baskets by Young and Anderson pushed it to 100-95. New York had one last chance when it got within two, but Young made a wide-open 3-pointer and Turner followed with a basket for a 107-100 cushion that sent fans for the exits. The Knicks said they knew what the Sixers would do on the possession that ended with Youngs open look from the top of the key, but coach Mike Woodson said they "botched it up." Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points for the Knicks in his return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench Monday in a loss to Brooklyn. Woodson wanted to return to the bigger lineup similar to the one that beat the 76ers in the last meeting. But the Knicks also had Amare Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin for that game, and both are out now with sprained left ankles. The loss to the Nets was a tumultuous holiday for the Knicks, as their blowout loss was followed by quotes from Anthony that seemed critical of his teammates effort and Chandler that appeared to question coach Woodsons defensive strategy. They probably didnt feel much better after this one, losing to a team they had defeated eight of the previous 10 times. "Weve got to believe that we can win a game," Woodson said. Anthony missed all four shots and had just one point in the first quarter while the 76ers hit 56 per cent for a 33-26 lead. He came back with 13 in the second, helping the Knicks pull to 61-56 at halftime. NOTES: Sixers F Brandon Davies had surgery for a broken right small finger. The Sixers said Davies, hurt Saturday against Chicago, will be re-evaluated in two weeks, though Brown said hes expected to be out longer. ... The Knicks are worth a league-high $1.4 billion, according to a ranking in Forbes. China NFL Store . So far, so good: Gonzalez has allowed one run through 12 innings this season. His second start came Tuesday night, when he gave up only three singles over six innings to lead the Nationals to a 5-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. Wholesale NFL Shop . In an interview with La Presse this week, the five-time Stanley Cup champion and three-time NHL scoring leader specifically took aim at wingers Thomas Vanek and Max Pacioretty, saying they cant show up in a 7-4 win over the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final and come up empty in Game 6. http://www.authenticcheapjerseyswholesale.com/ . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (5) – He had good saves on Giroux, Akeson, and Hartnell tonight. Jerseys NFL Store . This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Cheap NFL Store . This week they discuss the Philadelphia 76ers, Gregg Popovich, Royal and Ancient Golf Club and Bill Belichick.MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Timberwolves have named Sam Mitchell as an assistant on coach Flip Saunders staff. The Timberwolves made the announcement Tuesday. Mitchell played for the Timberwolves in 10 seasons, including seven years during Saunders first stint as coach of the team. Mitchell coached the Toronto Raptors for just over four seasons and was named coach of the year in 2006-07. He also servedd as an assistant under Avery Johnson in New Jersey and George Karl in Milwaukee.dddddddddddd He had been serving as an analyst on NBA TV among other media outlets while waiting to get back into the game. Saunders says he values the leadership Mitchell will bring to the team. Mitchell joins Sidney Lowe as assistants on Saunders staff. Saunders son, Ryan, is expected to be hired as well. ' ' '