CLEVELAND -- On a night of celebration, there were two surprising, strange sights: LeBron James back on Clevelands bench. John Terry Shirts . The Knicks back in the NBA playoff chase. Carmelo Anthony shook off a congested chest and a horrid shooting start to score 26 points, leading New York to its third straight victory, 107-97 over Cleveland on a Saturday when James was briefly reunited with the Cavaliers. Amare Stoudemire added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, whose winning streak began after a seven-game slide and amid reports Phil Jackson may accept a job in New Yorks front office. Anthony missed his first six shots, but found his touch in time to help the Knicks in their late-season run at the playoffs. J.R. Smith scored 17 and Tyson Chandler added 15 points and 11 boards for New York, which is 3 1/2 games out of the final post-season spot in the Eastern Conference. "You can see something different over the last couple of games," Anthony said. "It seems like everyone has a sense of urgency right now. Were playing for something. We control our own destiny. We want to win as many games as we can down the stretch." Kyrie Irving had 30 points, eight assists and eight rebounds for the Cavs, who retired centre Zydrunas Ilgauskas No. 11 jersey at halftime. Spencer Hawes had 21 points for Cleveland, which dropped to 0-4 in March. The Knicks were as good as done just a few days ago. But with New York fans ready to write them off again, and coach Mike Woodsons future looking shakier than ever, the Knicks have responded with wins over Minnesota, Utah and Cleveland. Theres still plenty of work to do, and the Knicks will likely need some help, but a dreadful season to this point has some hope. "Theres no room for error," Woodson said. "We have to play each possession like its our last possession. The mental approach is a little different now. Its been a tough season for all of us. Now, theyre playing for something." The Knicks made four 3-pointers during a 14-1 run early in the fourth to take control. With New York down 80-77, Pablo Prigioni drained a 3, Smith followed with a long-range shot and Prigioni dropped another 3 to give the Knicks an 88-81 lead. After a Cleveland turnover, Anthony made his fourth 3-pointer, putting the Knicks ahead by 10 with 7:38 left. Cleveland never recovered and the Knicks outscored the Cavs 30-17 over the final 10 minutes. "Were fighting for our lives," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "This team was a game behind us and I just feel like we didnt come out with the right mindset to compete with this team for the eighth spot." The loss put a damper on an otherwise memorable night for the Cavs. At halftime, they retired Ilgauskas jersey during a poignant ceremony. The big man overcame serious foot injuries early in his career to become the clubs career leader in rebounds, games played and blocked shots. Ilgauskas thanked Cleveland fans during the ceremony, which included James sitting again on Clevelands sideline. James, who famously left Cleveland as a free agent in 2010, kept a low profile as Ilgauskas jersey was raised to the rafters, but afterward he greeted his close friend and then posed for photos on the floor with former teammates Delonte West and Daniel "Boobie" Gibson. Anthony said the long halftime break helped. "It was good for me because I got some rest," said Anthony, who was unaware James was at the game. "I got a chance to lay on the floor and let Z do his thing. He took some time up. I appreciate him for that." Anthony couldnt buy a basket in the early minutes before heating up. He scored nine straight points to help the Knicks open a 45-35 lead, and then made his sixth shot in a row, a 3-pointer, to give New York a 14-point cushion. Hawes made consecutive 3-pointers to get the Cavs within six, but Smith dropped the first of his five 3-pointers and New York pushed its lead to 58-43. Irving, though, closed the second quarter with seven quick points to pull the Cavs to 58-50 at halftime. NOTES: The Knicks made 14 3s. ... Cavs C Anderson Varejao played 9 minutes after missing the previous 12 games with a sore back. ... James flew in from Chicago to support Ilgauskas, his teammate for eight seasons in Cleveland. With the Heat playing on Sunday, James chartered a jet to witness the ceremony. Dressed smartly in a dark suit, James sat in a luxury suite during the first half before coming down to the floor at halftime to see Ilgauskas jersey raised to the rafters. ... Beginning with a game in Phoenix on Wednesday, the Cavs will play six straight games -- three at home, three on the road -- against teams currently in playoff position. After the Suns, Cleveland will travel to Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers before hosting Miami, Oklahoma City and Houston. Diego Costa Jersey . David Krejci also had two assists and Tuukka Rask made 21 saves for the Bruins in their third straight shutout of the Flames in Boston. Rask picked up his third shutout of the season and extended Calgarys scoreless streak in Boston to 189 minutes, 36 seconds. Petr Cech Shirt . Midfielder Jonathan Osorio, who has missed the past three games due to a hamstring injury, will travel with the tam Friday and play in Dallas on Saturday.NASHVILLE -- After three games, Ryan Miller is fitting in just fine with the Blues. Ian Cole had a goal and an assist to lead St. Louis to its third straight win, 2-1 over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. Magnus Paajarvi had the other goal for the Blues, who have won all four of their games against Nashville this season. They are 16-0-1 against fellow Central Division teams. Miller stopped 20 shots to win his third game in as many starts since being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Nick Spaling scored for the Predators, losers of six of seven. "This is not how we wanted to come out of the break," Nashville forward Colin Wilson said. "Obviously we wanted to come out on a roll, and (we) havent been able to." Miller was quick to credit his teammates for the few shots against he had to face. "Every night, these guys track hard," he said. "They know where to be. They make the game easy to read." Cole scored the games first goal at 4:03 of the opening period after Steve Ott won a faceoff in the left circle and Cole beat Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne with a wrist shot high to the far side. "Otter had a great win right back to me, and I just kind of waited for traffic to get to the net," Cole said. "I then shot it high to the far side. I dont think he saw it." Otts assist was his first point as a Blue. Nashville drew even at 10:28 of the first on Spalings 11th goal of the season. From the right half boards, Patric Hornqvist sent a pass in front, where Spaling tipped the puck high over Millers right shoulder. Diego Costa Chelsea Jersey. The Predators have scored just one goal in each of their last three games, all losses. "We had a couple of looks, and when we had those looks, we werent able to get it by Miller," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "So yeah, its a little bit frustrating because youre playing well in a lot of areas of your game and not getting any points." St. Louis regained the lead at 8:18 of the second on Paajarvis sixth of the season. Paajarvi took a pass from Roman Polak in the neutral zone and skated into the Nashville zone on the right side, where he cut into the right faceoff circle and beat Rinne with a quick wrist shot. "Hes really improved," St. Louis coach Ken Hitch**** said of Paajarvi. "Hes bought in to the way he needs to play to be a really good pro. Hes become a really good player." Alexander Steen was awarded a penalty shot at 15:27 of the second period after being fouled from behind on a breakaway, but Rinne gloved down Steens wrist shot from the right side. Steen has converted one of two penalty shot attempts this season, while Rinne has turned aside the two that he has faced. NOTES: Hornqvists assist was the 100th of his career. ... Nashville C Mike Fisher has points in five consecutive games, equaling a season high. ... The Blues are 34-1-4 when scoring first this season. ' ' '
