Knicks 103, Heat 96 (OT): Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 24 points as they defeated a Miami Heat team stocked with talent like Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal Chris Quinn, Mark Blount and Earl Barron. That the Knicks needed overtime to beat the NBA's worst team at home should be a big embarrassment. Such a dramatic win saved the Knicks their longest home losing streak ever -- it would have been eight -- and......

Rangers 4, Sabres 3: Not only did the Rangers exact some revenge for their defeat in last season's playoffs, but they improved their chances of qualifying for this postseason. Sean Avery broke a third-period tie and put the Rangers two points ahead of the Sabres in the race for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Jaromir Jagr, Brandon and Nigel Dawes also scored for the Rangers, who have picked up points in their last......

Bruins 4, Rangers 3 (SO): Sometimes teams are happy with a single point, but the Rangers won't be in this one. They blew a lead in the third period -- after rallying from a 2-1 deficit -- and then saw things go against them in the shootout. A sluggish January for continues for New York. Scott Gomez had two assists and a goal, but it didn't help the Rangers avoid dropping to 2-4-1 in the......

Celtics 86, Nets 77: Maybe the Nets should play as well in the even quarters as they do in the odd periods. New Jersey got outscored 23-9 in the fourth quarter and fell to the 30-4 Celtics. Josh Boone did well -- except when he was at the free-throw line. He had 14 points and 16 rebounds in 37 minutes, but he went 0-for-6 from the stripe. The Nets as a team made only 9......

Rangers 6, Maple Leafs 1: Nothing like making opponents pay dearly for their trips to the penalty box. The Rangers scored five of their six goals on the power play -- Blair Betts' icebreaker was the only even-strength goal -- and won their second straight game. This came against a Maple Leafs team that has struggled in the Northeast Division this season, but that won't bother Petr Prucha (two goals) or Jaromir jagr (one goal,......

Nets 105, Cavaliers 97: Maybe the Nets should wear their road uniforms at home more often. The Nets' last win before Friday came at Cleveland, but that was when the Cavs didn't have LeBron James. Cleveland had its star on the court at Izod Arena, but the Nets had theirs, too. Vince Carter had 32 -- tying a season high -- and James "settled" for 29. Josh Boone put in 15 for New Jersey, though......

Knicks 97, Cavaliers 93: Eddy Curry, who has shown the Knicks nothing over the past two weeks, scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to help lead a comeback win over the Cavs. This may be a case of a day late and a dollar short, though. The Knicks remain two games behind the Nets for the final playoff spot, and they'll each play 12 more games. New York would also have......

After bowing out in five games to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals iast season, the Nets didn't feel the need to retool their starting lineup. Who wouldn't be happy with Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic on the floor for the tipoff? Instead, they knew their reserves could be better, and that's the weakness they concentrated on in the offseason. Head coach Lawrence Frank should have a better team......

The one positive you could say about Isiah was that he was always pretty good in the draft. Whether it was Channing Frye, Marcus Camby or Tracy McGrady, Isiah seemed to do pretty well in the draft. Apparently he now wants to ruin the last positive part of his reputation because how else can you explain drafting Renaldo Balkman with the 20th pick? It’s not that Balkman is a terrible player; he certainly played......

As impressive a week as St. John's had last week, defeating Louisville and Pittsburgh at home, the Red Storm could hardly have hoped to beat Connecticut on the road Wednesday. They didn't. After hanging with the nation's top-ranked team for a half, St. John's lost in Storrs 66-50. The Huskies outscored the visitors by 15 points in the second half and took control after two ejections with a 15-4 run. Just as so many other......