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NEW YORK -- Theres little margin for error, and the New York Knicks know it. cheap jerseys from china . They need a big finish to the regular season, and after the way theyve started the last two games, maybe they have one in them. Carmelo Anthony scored 18 of his 29 points in the first quarter, sending the Knicks to a rare easy night in a 108-81 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday. With a long way to go to get back into playoff position, the Knicks won their second straight following a seven-game losing streak. They began a favourable portion of their schedule by opening an early double-digit lead and remaining comfortably ahead the rest of the way. They scored 39 points in the first quarter, their best in any period this season, after scoring 38 in the opening 12 minutes at Minnesota on Wednesday. "Last two games is, we had no choice," coach Mike Woodson said. "Time is somewhat running out and every game is important." Anthony added a season-high eight assists while playing just three quarters of a game that wasnt competitive for long after the opening tip. J.R. Smith had 17 points and Tyson Chandler finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who led by as many as 32. "We can either cave in and let teams beat the hell out of us, or we can come out there fighting," Smith said. "Thankfully we are coming out here fighting and it starts on the defensive end." Amare Stoudemire, who has moved into the starting lineup along with Smith, scored 10 for the Knicks. They visit Cleveland on Saturday to play one of the teams in between them and Atlanta, which currently holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York entered play 5 1/2 games behind the Hawks. The losing has wrecked Anthonys hopes of putting off discussion about his free-agency plans until after the season. His brief postgame questions were focused on reports that Chicagos Joakim Noah talked to him about joining the Bulls, and that the Knicks had spoken to Phil Jackson about a role in the organizations management. "Its going to be more stories coming out, more speculation, everybodys going to have their own take on different stories, so for me Ive got to focus on playing ball and thats it," Anthony said. He did it well Friday, despite battling a cold. Anthony scored New Yorks final 11 points in the first quarter, with a four-point play and another 3-pointer in the final 38 seconds as the Knicks opened a 39-22 lead on 70 per cent shooting. New York stretched the lead to 21 late in the second quarter and was ahead 60-41 at halftime. New York is 23-40 but still has playoff aspirations due to all the weak competition at the bottom of the East. The Knicks upcoming schedule gives them hope, with games against Philadelphia, Boston and Milwaukee, all among the NBAs worst teams, next week. They had no trouble with the Jazz, another lowly squad that lost to the Knicks for the fifth straight time. Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks each scored 18 for the Jazz, who dropped their fifth straight and fell to 0-5 on their six-game, nine-day trip that ends Saturday in Philadelphia. "I thought for two or three months weve played pretty steady basketball, right around .500 basketball. For us that was a step in the right direction," forward Richard Jefferson said. "Now were at the end of the season, youve got a lot of guys playing minutes that theyve never played before. We can see fatigue, frustration. A lot of things are coming into play, but youve got to stick with it." NOTES: The Knicks will take part in a news conference Monday at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y., with county and NBA Development League officials to discuss their plans to bring a franchise to Westchester. ... Blown out in Chicago on ABC last Sunday, the Knicks had their April 13 rematch with the Bulls in New York booted off the network Friday. It will become a 7:30 p.m. start with no national TV coverage, while Oklahoma City at Indiana was moved to the 1 p.m. spot. ... Utahs trip is the longest by days since early in the 2003-04 season. nfl jerseys china . Westbrook had a triple-double in 21 minutes to win the matchup of talented point guards and help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the woeful Philadelphia 76ers 125-92 on Tuesday night. jerseys from china . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency.(NLL) - The Buffalo Bandits signed John Tavares and eight other players to one-year contracts on Friday. "Im excited to be back for another season in Bandit Land," said Tavares.  "After a disappointing season collectively and individually, I am looking forward to helping the team get back to the top of the league." In addition to Tavares, the Bandits also agreed to terms with Mike Hominuck, Jamie Rooney, Derek Hopcroft, Kurtis Wagar, Joel Matthews and Jordan Critch as well as 2013 draft picks Mitch Wilde and Nick Diachenko. Tavares enters 2014 as the all-time leading scorer in NLL history with a total of 1,666 points since joining the league in 1992. Last season, he appeared in 12 games and contributed 39 points. The Mississauga, Ontario native has played his entire career as a member of the Bandits. Hominuck returned to Buffalo for a second stint leading up to the 2013 season after previously spending two years (2004 and 2005) with the club. The Welland, Ontario native is coming off a 12-game season in which he tallied 21 points. Over his nine year NLL career to date, Hominuck has been credited with 311 points and 418 loose ball recoveries. Rooney appeared in three games in his inaugural season with the Bandits in 2013, registered seven points. Acquired from Toronto with Glen Bryan in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2012 NLL Entry Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2013 NLL Entry Draft, he has notched 124 points and 219 loose balls over 66 career NLL games.  Hopcroft, acquired prior to the 2013 season from Colorado in exchange for a conditional fiftth-round pick in the 2014 NLL Draft, suited up in four contests last year for Buffalo and recorded 11 points. cheap nhl jerseys. . Over his 18-game NLL career to this date, the Toronto native has 40 points. Wagar just completed his first season with the Bandits after also being signed as a free agent prior to the 2013 campaign. He registered 333 minutes between the pipes in 2013, earning a 12.22 GAA to go along with a 2-6 record.  He has seen 529 minutes of action as a goaltender and compiled a record of 3-7 as well as a 11.91 GAA. Matthews, Buffalos fourth-round choice in 2012, has yet to appear in a game for the Bandits after being registered as a Non-Roster Player for the Bandits during 2013 (Physically Unable to Perform – PUP). Prior to being drafted, he completed a 25-game career with the University of Detroit Mercy, where he notched 87 points. Critch, selected by the Bandits in the second-round of the 2012 draft (16th overall), appeared in five games for the club in 2013. Over this time, he recorded five points after enjoying an 81-game junior career, over which he compiled 146 points. Wilde, Buffalos second-round selection (15th overall) in the 2013 draft, spent the past four years playing with Robert Morris University. Over 26 career games with the Colonials, Wilde tallied nine points. Diachenko, chosen one pick before Wilde in the second round of this years draft (14th overall), recently completed his four-year career for the University of Delaware over which he contributed 75 points. He was also named a Colonial Athletic Association Second-Team All-Star in 2013. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '