WC3 Chess » Falu added a sacrifice fly in the nint

NEW YORK, N.Y. - In nearly 800 NBA regular-games, Carmelo Anthony had never played in one like this. It didnt matter. Eliminated from post-season contention for the first time in his 11-year career, Anthony said it was tough even coming to the arena on Sunday night. "But mentally, you just had to put yourself in that mindset. Although youre not playing for nothing, if you suit up, youve still got to go out there and play ball," Anthony said. He and the Knicks did it well, getting 20 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. and beating the Chicago Bulls 100-89. No longer with any hopes of their own, the Knicks snapped the Bulls seven-game winning streak and dropped them back into a tie with Toronto for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference with two to play. "We let a big game slip tonight. It was probably the biggest game of the season," Bulls centre Joakim Noah said. "Disappointing the way our mentality wasnt good today, but overall we just wont have time, just got to let this one go, get ready tomorrow." Anthony and J.R. Smith each had 17 points for the Knicks, who were eliminated Saturday when Atlanta beat Miami, ending New Yorks run of three straight post-season berths. Anthonys first season without a post-season comes as he prepares to become a free agent in July. He had a hard time looking ahead beyond the next two games — which he isnt even sure he will play in because of nagging shoulder pain that he might get checked. "Its just hard for me to even think past tonight, right now, at this moment," Anthony said. "Everything is just, for me, just cloudy. Ive never been in this situation before. I dont even know what to say about this situation." A 54-win division champion last season, they believed they were built to play deep into the spring, so confident in what they had that Amare Stoudemire said the expectations should have been even higher. "On paper, we might be the best team in the league," he said before the game. "Weve got great players on this team whove accomplished so much. We just couldnt put it together." Noah had 13 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists for the Bulls. Jimmy Butler scored 17 points, but Chicago was just 6 of 22 (27 per cent) from 3-point range. "Defensively, we werent very good," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I liked the fight to come back. I thought we made some good plays down the stretch and we missed some wide-open 3s that you live with." The Knicks led 45-39 at halftime, then Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers and Raymond Felton made one for a 9-0 spurt that opened a 60-46 advantage, and the lead reached 67-50 when Anthony nailed a 3. Chicago was down 17 again with 7 1/2 minutes to play before finally making a push, cutting it to 93-87 when Taj Gibsons three-point play capped a 15-4 run. But they repeatedly misfired from the perimeter, preventing them from getting any closer. The Knicks have played well in March and April, beating Toronto on Friday, but its too late after they had already fallen to 21-40. "Being the coach, I just apologize to the fans, because again, they pay their hard-earned money to come out and see us play and we didnt come into this season expecting this," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. Whatever expectations the Bulls had were gone after Derrick Rose was lost to season-ending knee surgery in late November and Luol Deng was traded on Jan. 7. But Chicago has not only regrouped but flourished, bringing an Eastern Conference-best 35-14 mark in 2014 into Sundays play. But they will need help now — perhaps from the Knicks, who host Toronto in Wednesdays finale — to get the No. 3 spot, since the Raptors would get the tiebreaker as a division champion. Chicago closes against Orlando on Monday and at Charlotte on Wednesday. Notes: The game was originally scheduled for a 1 p.m. start and be shown nationally on ABC, but was booted shortly after the Bulls 109-90 rout of the Knicks in Chicago on March 2. The Indiana-Oklahoma City game was shifted to that marquee spot. ... Chicago was trying for its first eight-game winning streak since Feb. 20-March 7, 2012. Nike Air Force 1 Norge Prisjakt . The Raptors have to get through the pesky New York Knicks Wednesday at Madison Square Garden and can lock up the third spot in the Eastern Conference with a win or a Chicago loss in Charlotte. Air Force 1 07 Norge . The 49ers announced the deal Tuesday. San Francisco selected Lloyd in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. http://www.airforce1norge.com/nike-juvenate-norge.html . PETERSBURG, Fla. Nike Blazer Norge . Expensive. The NFL fined Tomlin $100,000 on Wednesday for interfering with Baltimores Jacoby Jones on a kickoff return in the third quarter of a 22-20 loss to the Ravens on Thanksgiving night. Air Force 1 Dame Norge .C. -- Authorities say the brother of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White has been shot and killed outside a South Carolina nightclub.PITTSBURGH -- Lyle Overbay didnt take it personally. Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle decided to have Edinson Volquez intentionally walk Scooter Gennett, a .287 hitter, to pitch to Overbay with the score tied runners on second and third in the fourth inning Saturday. With good reason. The Milwaukee Brewers first baseman was hitting just .213. Overbay came through, hitting a tiebreaking two-run single to centre field that made it 4-2 and sent the NL Central-leading Brewers on their way to a 9-3 victory. Just before Gennett was walked, Khris Davis hit an RBI single to tie the score at 2-2. "I wasnt really surprised that they walked Scooter in that situation," Overbay said. "Volquez has a good sinker and theyre looking to get a double play there. What I need to do there is make sure I dont swing at a sinker low and away and hit into the double play." Milwaukee had lost three of its previous four gamers, including getting routed 15-5 by the Pirates on Friday night. "This was a good win," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "It feels good to come back the next day and play well. We got some big hits, took advantage of some opportunities they gave us and got solid pitching." Matt Garza (4-4) got through six shaky innings to win back-to-back starts for the first time since last July. He allowed five walks and six hits while striking out one, yet limited the Pirates to three runs a day after they scored a season-high. Rob Wooten, Will Smith and Brandon Kintzler each pitched an inning of scoreless relief. "Personal wins are nice, but the team winning is what really matters, and all I want to do is keep stacking up those team wins," Garza said. Davis and Jonathan Lucroy had two hits each for the NL Central-leading Brewers. Ryan Brauns two-run double in a four-run eighth inning extended Milwaukees lead to 8-3. Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez had two hits each for Pittssburgh, which committed five errors.dddddddddddd First baseman Ike Davis made two of the errors on one play in the first inning when he failed to catch a pickoff throw then threw wildly to second base. "We gave up a lot of free bases with the errors," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "From a fielding perspective, we were all over the place. We made it a lot tougher on our pitchers than it needed to be." Volquez (3-5) lost for the first time in four starts, giving up four runs and four hits in six innings. "I left a couple of pitches right in the middle of the plate in (the fourth) inning," Volquez said. "Ive got to do a better job than that. I let them have a big inning and that was the ballgame." Pittsburgh got within 4-3 in the sixth inning on a double play grounder before Milwaukee put the game away in the eighth on Brauns double and an infield RBI single by Jean Segura. Irving Falu added a sacrifice fly in the ninth. Alvarezs two-run single in the second inning put the Pirates ahead 2-1 after Lucroy hit a sacrifice fly in the first. The Pirates Josh Harrison extended his hitting streak 10 games, tying a career high, with a two-out double in the ninth inning NOTES: Milwaukee placed RHP Tyler Thornburg on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow after the game and recalled RHP Mike Fiers from Triple-A Nashville. . Pittsburgh RHP Gerrit Cole was scratched from his scheduled start Monday night against the Chicago Cubs. LHP Jeff Locke will be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and start Sunday against the Brewers Yovani Gallardo (3-4, 4.08) in the finale of the three-game series. RHP Charlie Morton will start Monday instead of Sunday. . Pittsburgh LF Starling Marte, mired in an 0-for-20 slump, was not in the lineup for a fourth straight game. ... Milwaukee rookie LHP Wei-Chung Wang bruised his right knee Friday night but X-rays showed no broken bones. ' ' '