Last Night's Action: So Close

• Mavericks 105 Knicks 103: This would have been sweet. The Knicks almost came away with the win of the year, actually the win of the past two years, before losing in the final second to the 61-win Mavericks on the road.

  Stephon Marbury had an amazing night, scoring 43 points while almost single-handedly leading the team to victory. The Knicks out-shot and out-rebounded the Mavericks, but were done in by 25 turnovers.

• Pistons 110 Nets 105: New Jersey almost had a great victory of their own, surging to a big lead in the third quarter, before forgetting to play defense in the fourth. The Pistons shot 55% in the final period and overcame 27 points from Vince Carter for the victory.
• Devils 3 Flyers 1: New Jersey needed this one and they got it thanks to a smothering defensive effort that allowed Philadelphia only 15 shots on goal. The win brings the Devils back into a tie with Pittsburgh for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
• Sabres 6 Islanders 4: The Islanders are missing their most important player and it showed Friday night as Rick DiPietro’s replacement, Mike Dunham was blitzed for five goals in the first fifteen minutes, including two short-handed. New York never recovered and now sits in 10th place with five games remaining.

Photograph of Dallas Mavericks guard Jerry Stackhouse fouling Stephon Marbury by Matt Slocum/AP