INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel was worried about facing the Milwaukee Bucks in a matchup of the teams with the best and worst records in the NBA. Letroy Guion Packers Jersey . Turns out, he had reason for concern. "If youre a team without a great record, and youve got a chance to knock off one of the top dogs, thats obviously a win that scores more points with you," Vogel said before the Pacers 101-96 comeback victory Thursday night. Roy Hibbert had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Paul George and Lance Stephenson each scored 18 points for Indiana. The Pacers, 44-13 overall and an NBA-best 28-3 at home, blew a 17-point lead in the first half. "Theyre a real good team and I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping it close into the fourth quarter," Bucks rookie guard Nate Wolters said. "But then just like the other night we let it slip away. It wasnt real hard to get up for these guys tonight." Indianas George Hill took a nasty spill along the baseline late in the game. Vogel said the starting guard was day-to-day with a bruised left shoulder. The Bucks, an NBA-worst 11-46, tied it at 50 at the half and built a six-point lead in the third quarter. Brandon Knight had 23 points for Milwaukee, Khris Middleton added 22, O.J. Mayo had 14, and Ramon Sessions 13. Ersan Ilysova had 11 rebounds and nine points. "Were still a team thats pretty much trying to find something to hang our hat on," Mayo said. "Were a young team that is still learning and we just have to keep getting better every day. This was definitely a winnable game, but we made too many mistakes on the road against the best team in the Eastern Conference." Indiana led 32-15 early in the second quarter after going 13 of 19 from the field in the first 12 minutes. The Pacers were 8 of 19 in the second quarter, while the Bucks shot 13 of 21 after going 7 of 22 in the first. "I dont think our guys let down at all," Vogel said. "They understand a 15-point lead in the first quarter means nothing." Stephensons layup put the Pacers up 50-38 with 2:10 to play in the first half. But Middleton scored seven straight points, and Knight had the last five points of the half as the Bucks used a 12-0 run to tie it. Knight opened the second half with a 3-pointer for Milwaukees first lead, 53-50. The Bucks extended the lead to six at 60-54 before George and Stephenson hit 3-pointers to tie it. "Theyve got a lot of great shot-makers over there, thats why theyve been staying in games here lately," Hill said. The Bucks took a 64-60 lead on consecutive baskets by Nate Wolters and Zaza Pachulia, but the Pacers scored seven of the next nine points to regain the lead at 67-66. The Bucks got no closer than two points the rest of the way. "I think we got a couple stops down the stretch that we really needed, and we capitalized on the offensive end when we did get those stops," Hill said. "Youve got to tip your hat to Milwaukee; no matter what their record says, thats a good team over there." NOTES: Before the game, the Bucks waived forward Caron Butler after agreeing to a contract buyout. The 33-year-old Butler made 13 starts and appeared in 34 games this season, averaging 11.0 points and 4.6 rebounds. ... On Saturday night, Indiana is at Boston, and Milwaukee will be home against Brooklyn. Tramon Williams Womens Jersey . Louis Cardinals have agreed on a four-year contract, giving the All-Star a fresh start after his Biogenesis drug suspension last summer. Matt Flynn Womens Jersey . Canada improved to 2-0 with the win after shutting out Finland 3-0 in the tournament opener two days earlier. Matheson opened the scoring against the Italians by converting a cross in the 33rd minute. NEW YORK -- Turning around their fourth-quarter performance was a small step. Pablo Prigionis goal is for the New York Knicks to turn around their whole season. "I believe we can change this situation (by) working hard every day and try to play 100 per cent every possession, every day, and I dont know, keep going," Prigioni said. "We cant be sad because of what we did in the last 20 games. We have to look in front and just keep going." Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points, Andrea Bargnani added 23 and the Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 111-106 on Saturday night. Prigioni had a season-high 11 points and was a spark in the decisive 11-0 run midway through the final period as the Knicks finished strong one night after a fourth-quarter flop cost them in a loss at Boston. New York could have been looking at a three-game winning streak, but was outscored 22-13 in the final 12 minutes of its 90-86 loss to the Celtics. "We werent stale tonight in the fourth quarter like we were last night," coach Mike Woodson said. "We played what, four games in five days, and it was kind of nice to see us bounce back like that." Lou Williams scored a season-high 27 points in his best game since returning from knee surgery, but the Hawks committed 27 turnovers -- most in the NBA this season -- that led to 36 points and negated their 60.6 per cent shooting. "I think tonight was a night where the most aggressive team won. I think you give a lot of credit to the Knicks," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Defensively, they were creating a lot of turnovers, creating a lot of problems for us." Paul Millsap scored 18 but had nine turnovers and fouled out. Al Horford finished with 17 points. The Knicks wore their regular whites instead of the alternate orange uniforms theyve been wearing for weekend home games. Theyre 0-6 in the orange, including a 110-90 loss to the Hawks at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, when they caused a colour clash with Atlantas red. New Yorks lead was just 87-83 before Anthonys 3-pointer with 6:26 remaining. Prigioni then hit one, followed that with a steal and a layup, and then fed Bargnani for another 33 that made it 98-83 with 5:11 to play. Davante Adams Womens Jersey. Starting for injured point guard Raymond Felton, Prigioni also had six assists and harassed the Hawks ballhandlers into a number of mistakes. Kyle Korver scored 13 points, making four of Atlantas six 3-pointers in the third quarter to extend his NBA record to 93 straight games with at least one. That helped the Hawks pull to 81-77, but they coughed it up seven times in the fourth. "We couldnt capitalize off of the mistakes they made," Horford said. "There were a few times we had a fast break in which we could have scored and we threw the ball away. I think that cost us the game. That kind of deflated us as a team." Still without injured starters Tyson Chandler and Felton, the Knicks also were missing Kenyon Martin, who has a strained left abdominal muscle. But they somewhat surprisingly had Amare Stoudemire, who said Friday he expected to be ordered to take the night off by the training staff in what was the teams fourth game in five days. Instead, Stoudemire -- who was barred from playing on back-to-back nights earlier this season and had his minutes restricted coming off another knee surgery -- said he felt great and wanted to play. And face it, the Knicks need all the help they can get. Woodson acknowledged that Stoudemire probably wouldnt have played if the Knicks were 15-5, but theyre only 7-16. Stoudemire scored nine. Atlanta had a one-point lead with under 5 minutes left in the second quarter before Tim Hardaway Jr. made a 3-pointer and dunked, starting a 12-0 run that gave the Knicks a 52-41 advantage. J.R. Smith got the start for Martin after taking just one shot in the loss at Boston. Smith said after the game he was focusing on distributing to his teammates, an idea so out of character that Woodson had trouble keeping a straight face when asked about it Saturday. Smith took eight shots, but made only one and finished with two points. NOTES: Woodson said the medical staff was still evaluating Martins injury, but he expects the forward to be out a little while. ... The Hawks were without Gustavo Ayon, who didnt travel because of a sprained left ankle. ' ' '
