NEW YORK -- J. Jonathan Inter Milan .R. Smith left Anthony Bennett standing still and Tristan Thompson on his backside. The New York Knicks didnt just beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, they embarrassed them. Carmelo Anthony and rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. each scored 29 points, Smith had 19, and the Knicks won 117-86 Thursday night for their fourth straight victory. The Knicks wrapped up a 10-6 January after going just 9-21 through the end of December. They have rebounded from losing the first three games on their franchise record-tying, eight-game homestand and can finish it with a winning record if they beat Miami on Saturday night. "It is starting to feel a lot better here on our home court to win basketball games," Anthony said. "Were just trying to keep it going." Anthony scored 18 in the first quarter, only two off his total from his franchise-record, 62-point game Friday night. But he sat nearly half of the second quarter to fall well off the pace, as he had 37 points at halftime that night. He still scored enough to become the 50th player in NBA history to surpass 19,000 points. Hardaway had a career high in points and tied the Knicks rookie record with six 3-pointers. "I knew that if I could shoot the ball very, very well at the next level, then I should be able to help the team out," he said. But the dazzling plays were provided by Smith, who had to keep himself from laughing when he crossed over Thompson so bad that the forward fell down as Smith was making a jumper. Smith was starting for Iman Shumpert, who was out with a sprained right shoulder. The Knicks were also missing Andrea Bargnani (left elbow ligament), Kenyon Martin (sprained left ankle) and Amare Stoudemire (sprained left ankle), who are all starters or key reserves. Even without them, they cruised to their third easy victory during their winning streak. "These are the bright spots you want to have, especially playing at home," Smith said. "Youve got your teammates on the bench going crazy, guys on the court are excited and love to play the game and theres nothing better than that." Kyrie Irving scored 24 points for the Cavs on a day in which his long-term commitment to Cleveland was again questioned. "Theres just so much negative attention. I mean I know were struggling, but I mean its just not about me. Its about our team," Irving said. Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick, was coming off a season-best 15 points in his last outing. But this one was another of the forgettable performances that have made up his season: four points on 1-of-6 shooting. He came in a little more than 4 minutes into the game, and the Knicks immediately began attacking him. Smith had the ball in the corner and blew by him along the baseline before pulling the ball down while in the air and then pulling it back up before slamming it in. Anthony had the ball near the free throw line on the next possession, easily went by the rookie and laid it in to make it 26-9. The Knicks doubled the Cavs up at 58-29 when Anthony made two free throws with 4:23 remaining in the half, and New York led 60-36 at halftime. The Cavaliers have lost three straight and five of six. General manager Chris Grant said Wednesday that the Cavs "lack of effort is just not acceptable," but they were so bad so fast in this one that it was hard to tell if the effort was any better. But the bigger concern for Cavs fans may have come earlier in the day, when an ESPN.com writer wrote that Irving, the 2011 No. 1 pick, was already telling people privately that he wanted out of Cleveland. He said it was too early to say if he would sign an extension this summer, but said he enjoyed playing for the Cavaliers. "Im still in my rookie contract and Im happy to be here and Im pretty sure that Im going to be here for a long time," Irving said. "Im not saying anything to foretell the future, but Im pretty sure the relationship I have with (owner) Dan Gilbert and management extends off the court and I enjoy being here." Dion Waiters had 21 points for the Cavs, who played without Anderson Varejao (bruised left knee) and allowed the Knicks to shoot 57 per cent from the field. NOTES: The crowd included Denver Broncos defensive back Champ Bailey and NBA Commissioner David Stern, who is retiring Saturday. The Knicks honoured Stern with a video narrated by former Knicks star Bill Bradley, a member of both of New Yorks championship teams. Mario Gotze Germany Jersey .4 million contract extension. Garbutt has a career-high 18 points with 10 goals and eight assists in 46 games this season. Spain Soccer Jersey .S. -- Kelsey Rocque remains the only unbeaten womens skip at the Canadian junior curling championships. JEREZ, Spain -- Jenson Button steered his repaired McLaren to the fastest lap on Wednesday, and Nico Rosberg helped Mercedes rebound from Lewis Hamiltons crash with the longest run on the second day of Formula One preseason testing. Otherwise, most teams continued to struggle with their new cars following a massive rulebook overhaul that includes a shift to a turbo engine and more sophisticated energy recovery systems. Four-time defending world champion Sebastian Vettel only managed eight laps around the Jerez track before Red Bulls engine maker, Renault, reported a malfunction and the team decided to call it quits. That gave Vettel a total of 11 laps to start the preseason. "Obviously weve not had a lot of running and have a few problems to sort out, but with such big rule changes it is usual to have some teething problems. Thats what tests are for, to sort those issues out," said Vettel, who now hands the wheel to new teammate Daniel Ricciardo for the remaining two days in southern Spain. An electrical problem had kept Button in the garage on Tuesday, but he was the first out on wet tires in the morning and after the asphalt had dried he set the benchmark lap time with 1 minute, 24.165 seconds. The former world champion is aiming to help McLaren bounce back from its worst season since 1980 after it didnt reach the podium last year. Rosberg led the eight-car field with 97 laps, a day after a front wing problem sent Hamiltons Mercedes flying into the barrier. Rosberg said the new Mercedes F1 W05 has little in common with its predecessor and compared its steering wheel to a "smartphone with all the information on it." After overnight rain, the sessions 9 a.. James Milner Manchester City. m. start was delayed as a tractor worked its way around the track spraying more water on the already damp asphalt so teams could test Pirellis tires for wet surfaces. But by noon the sun had come out and the track was dry as forecasts of showers never materialized, leaving teams to run under normal conditions. All the teams are struggling to get their cars race ready in time for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16. They will have two more tests in Bahrain before heading to Melbourne. So far, they have combined for 424 laps across two days of testing. Last year, with the preseason starting after far fewer tweaks to the rules governing car design, drivers combined for more than 1,500 laps over the first two days here. Ferrari appears to be handling the new regulations the best. Kimi Raikkonen followed up his fastest lap time from Tuesday with the second-fastest lap on Wednesday, 0.647 seconds behind Button. Local favourite Fernando Alonso will drive for Ferrari on Thursday and Friday. McLarens promising recovery from Tuesdays no-show coincided with its hiring of Eric Boullier as its new racing director. Boullier joins a week after leaving rival Lotus, in a restructuring at McLaren that recently included luring back former team principal Ron Dennis as its new chief executive. F1 newcomer Marcus Ericsson came to a stop in his Caterham for the days third and final red flag. Sergio Perezs Force India had spouted smoke earlier after Esteban Gutierrez ended up in the gravel in his Sauber. F1s new rules include a shift to a 1.6-litre V6 turbo engine from last years 2.4-litre V8. They also affect the cars fuel limits, weight and body design. cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
