NBA- New York Knicks defeat the Philadelphia 76ers

The Knicks had an awful March, but they are sure doing their best to make up for it this April, as the Knicks have set up a very decent 5 game winning streak since their 113-106 win in overtime against the Orlando Magic in an intricate overtime. It really seems as if the key to this success lies behind the talent of one Carmelo Anthony.

Yes, we have to recognize that since joining in late February, after an extensive 15-player deal that finally landed him from the Denver Nuggets into his new home, the Knicks have suffered a big deal of upsets, including the last two weeks of March where they lost all but one in a 10 game stretch.

But things are slowly but surely looking a bit better and with a 97-92 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, they have successfully clinch the 6th place in the Eastern Conference and get a really good chance of getting into the Playoffs. Anthony  scored 31 points, 11 rebounds while the other referent, Amare Stoudemire scored 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Stoudemire suffered a left ankle sprain during the game, and he is going to miss tonight’s game against the New Jersey Nets and it seems that he is going to be out Sunday when they hit the road and face the Indiana Pacers.

But we have to give it up for the 76ers for putting one heck of a battle. Had it not been for Toney Douglas, who hit the go ahead triple with 1:47 to go, we would be writing the story of how the 76ers won the game despite a 19-point deficit in one heck of a comeback. To seal the deal, it was Douglas who completed two free throws with 42 seconds to go to give the Knicks their 5th consecutive win.

Elton Brand was the leader for Philadelphia scoring 24 points, recording 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. As for the comeback, Thaddeus Young was vital for the 76ers aspirations. Not only did he scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half alone, but he was basically responsible for rallying the 76ers back into the game alone. it was Andre Iguodala gave the last touches to the rally, pulling the Sixers within one point with his first 3-pointer of the game. But it wasn’t enough. Truth is that Carmelo Anthony had been on fire all night long and he was going to connect a triple in clutch time to give the Knicks a 95-91 lead.

So was Melo on fire? Oh yeah: he scored 28 point from behind the 3-point line and once again proved that he is ready for much bigger things. How big, well, truth is that this two team put on one heck of a show, playing with aggressiveness and an atmosphere so tense that one could have imagined they were playing for the top-seed in the Eastern Conference and not for the 6th. But hey, everybody wants to be invited to the big dance, and neither team can really afford to lose a chance to make it into the NBA Playoffs.

The Knicks lost guard Chauncey Billups (another great addition in the deal that landed Melo in New York) towards the end of the third quarter, and he didn’t comeback. He had a bruised right tight, but the big problem came for Stoudemire, not for Billups who is expected to see action tonight.

NBA – Philadelphia 76ers stun the Boston Celtics

Once again the Boston Celtics hit the headlines of our sports betting blog. The Celtics are starting to show signs of slowing down in the final stretch of the final season. The Philadelphia 76ers brought on a great game and guided by Elton Brand scored 14 points, while Spencer Hawes had 14 points and 10 rebounds to help the Sixers beat the Boston Celtics 89-86.

It really wasn’t much of a fight from the start. The Sixers held a 10-point advantage for most of the fourth quarter and they were certainly helped out by the Boston Celtics. They missed eight straight baskets over a 6-minute span late in the fourth quarter to hand in the win to Philadelphia. The Boston Celtics lost in this manner their eighth conference game of the season.

Looking for a quick review of how it all went down in the fourth quarter, well here it is: Lou Williams’ jumper just before the game hit the 5-minute mark put the Sixers ahead 83-81. And Boston never got ahead of them again. Jodie Meeks made two free throws after he was fouled hard by Paul Pierce on a fast break attempt and the Sixers were able to pull off one of their best wins of the season.

It was certainly a bad night for the Big Three. Either that or they were just not trying too hard. Truth is, the Celtics have already secured a berth in the NBA Playoffs and these three guys aren’t getting any younger, so not pushing it too hard on meaningless games could easily be part of a larger, long-term plan. Anyhow, these are their numbers: Garnett scored 14 points, Paul Pierce had 11 and Ray Allen finished with five. Jeff Green led Boston with 18 points. Extra kudos go to backup Nenad Krstic who had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Celtics.