The New York Knicks produced 34 fourth quarter points to come back and win over the Indiana Pacers 110-103 last night at Conseco Fieldhouse. Al Harrington and Larry Hughes led in scoring off the bench with 26 and 22 points. With the win the Knicks snapped a tough six-game losing streak while holding the Pacers from claiming their sixth consecutive victory.

Post-game talks were mostly revolved around the 2-9 Knicks possibly signing veteran guard Allen Iverson. The 34-year old former MVP split with the Memphis Grizzlies after appearing in just three games. Head coach Mike D’Antoni is excited for discussions to continue, saying “I think it will help things. You got a guy who’s a proven scorer, probably a Hall of Famer. He can only do positive things, I think, to this team.”

Hopefully New York can keep it going against the winless New Jersey Nets on Saturday. The Pacers will look to get back on point Friday when hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Boston Celtics avoided their third consecutive loss yesterday against the Golden State Warriors, controlling the tempo each quarter at the TD Garden to eventually take the game 109-95. Rajon Rondo produced quite the statline, scoring 18 points with 12 assists and 7 rebounds. He definitely changed the momentum for the C’s with 12 points during their big run in the third quarter.

“He was terrific in the second half,” said Boston coach Doc Rivers of Rondo. “He came out in the third quarter and played with unbelievable speed and energy.” Former Celtics forward/center and new found Warrior Mikki Moore had some promising words for his old teammate, saying “That might be the only player in the league who can average a triple-double for a season.”

Kevin Garnett netted 12 points for Boston that included a thrilling quarterback pass drained from the other 3-point line to end the half. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins all showed up to play scoring 19, 15 and 15. Corey Maggette led the Warriors with 23 points and eight rebounds. The Celtics are next set to host the defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic Friday, November 20th. Orlando is 9-3 so far this season and coming off a strong 108-94 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Boston Celtics 2009-2010 regular season tickets are now available!

Kobe Bryant netted 40 points for the 100th time as the Los Angeles Lakers avoided their third straight loss against the Detroit Pistons last night at the Staples Center. Detroit created a late game run after being down 25 heading into the fourth quarter, proceeding to outscore LA 30-18. Unfortunately for them not enough time remained, resulting in a 106-93 Lakers victory.

Bryant now trails just Michael Jordan (173) and Wilt Chamberlain (271) on the NBA’s list of most career 40-point games. “It’s a true honor,” said Bryant. “A lot of work went into it, and when I look back on that, I can’t believe I had 100 of those games. It’s just a good feeling.”

The Lakers will be hosting the Chicago Bulls tonight before the Oklahoma City Thunder make their way to LA on Sunday. Los Angeles Lakers tickets are available now!

Joe Johnson scored eight of his game-high 35 points in overtime as his Atlanta Hawks went on to outlast the Portland Trail Blazers 99-95 last night at Philips Arena. The Hawks have started off the year red hot with regular season record of 9-2.  The team believes themselves to be definite contenders in the East for 2010.

“The last two years being in the playoffs has put this team in a totally different light,” said coach Mike Woodson. “Now when they go on the court, they know they have a chance to win. It’s kind of nice sitting on the top of the division.” Josh Smith collected 20 points and 16 rebounds to help Atlanta earn their fifth consecutive victory, a streak that includes a tough road win in Boston against the Celtics.

The Trail Blazers have also improved immensely over the years. So far this season they hold an 8-4 record with young talent LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Miller, and Greg Oden leading the way. Aldridge notched 18 yesterday with Miller and Oden following up with 14 and 11, respectively. Portland is set to host the Detroit Pistons Wednesday as the Hawks take on the Miami Heat in Atlanta.  

Allen Iverson is expected to be waived at some point today after not being placed on waivers by the league deadline, giving great indication that he and the Memphis Grizzlies are parting ways. The 34 year-old guard began complaining during his debut against the Sacramento Kings. Even though he just came back from injury (torn left hamstring), Iverson expected to start immediately and receive heavy minutes.

The Answer had some choice words for the organization following the contest. “Yeah, I’ll be disappointed (if he’s a sub this season),” said Iverson. “I’m not a reserve basketball player. I’ve never been a reserve all my life and I’m not going to start looking at myself as a reserve. … To answer the question, ‘No, I’m not a bench player. I’m not a sixth man. Go look at my resume and that will show you I’m not a sixth man.”

The Grizzlies will be forced to pay only a fraction of his $3 million contract. So far not many teams have jumped to get Iverson after his quick fall out with Memphis. The New York Knicks have already announced a possible interest in the veteran.

Dwayne Wade scored a game high 36 points for the Miami Heat in attempts to beat out his friendly nemesis LeBron James. Though LeBron failed to match Flash in points with 34, his Cleveland Cavaliers more importantly were able to notch the 111-104 win on the road at the American Airlines Arena.

Buying a ticket to yesterday’s game meant you were in store for a full on performance involving two of the three best players in the NBA. The game was competitive on top of the marquee talent really going to work. “I like playing against LeBron more than anybody else in the league,” said Wade. “He brings out the best in me, and I bring out the best in him.” 

James refused to answer any free agency questions, but earlier this week Wade confirmed that the two have talked about playing together someday. So far the likely choices for LeBron in 2010 (aside from re-signing with the Cavs) include the New York Knicks, New Jersey (or Brooklyn) Nets, and Miami Heat.

Kobe Bryant led his defending champion Los Angeles Lakers with 29 points as they went on to outscore the Phoenix Suns 121-102 last night at the Staples Center. Steve Nash and the Suns have failed to beat the Lakers in five of their last six matchups. LA didn’t have any problems playing right along and overshadowing the Suns run and gun type style.

“It’s just tough matchups all around,” Phoenix said coach Alvin Gentry. “They just took us out of everything we tried to do. We miss a dunk, and they come back with a three-point play. We miss an open shot, and then they come down with a 3-point shot. They’re a great basketball team. I don’t know if they have a weakness, after looking around.”

Andrew Bynum in his first game back from elbow problems earned game MVP rights with 26 points and 15 rebounds.  “I got my legs back, and I’m fresh,” said Bynum. “As far as the elbow goes, I’m going to continue getting treatment. It hurts a little bit, but it’s going to be that way for a little while.”

Jared Dudley led the Suns in scoring with 14 points off the bench.  They are next set to host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. This Friday the Lakers will be tested in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference finals verses the Denver Nuggets.

LeBron James dominated in an early season rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals against the Orlando Magic with 36 points, as the Cleveland Cavaliers went on to win 102-93 yesterday at the Amway Arena.  Lately the 5-3 Cavs have started to find their rhythm after starting the season slower than anticipated. “I think we just played with a sense of urgency,” said James. “We’re in attack mode. The whole game we put pressure on their defense.”

Shaquille O’Neal as always was a huge presence down low with 10 points. Even though his numbers weren’t necessarily through the roof, he contained Orlando’s premier center Dwight Howard to just 11 points and 7 rebounds. It’s not unusual for Howard to walk off the floor with a 20/20 stat line, so for Shaq to cut that in half and get him in foul trouble was key to Cleveland’s success.

LeBron and the Cavaliers can smile about their victory in Orlando following their dismal performance in the playoffs last season. James knows as a veteran that a lot of work lies ahead for his squad, saying “It’s just one game. We will see them later on this season.” The teams will meet again on Thursday, February 11th at the Quicken Loans Arena.

The Boston Celtics won every quarter but the fourth which eventually led to their 105-86 blowout over the Utah Jazz yesterday at the TD Garden.  Each block of time was competitive aside from the start of the second half, where the C’s took over to stretch the point advantage by 20. Rajon Rondo notched a double-double for Boston. His best play of the night was when he sprinted the entire length of the court for a layup at the buzzer to end the third.

“It was just our ‘Get out of the way’ play,” said Rondo. “Rasheed (Wallace) came up and set a great pick and left me one-on-one with a big.” Sheed himself along with Marquis Daniels produced a solid 22 points combined off the bench. Kevin Garnett scored 18 with four rebounds and two steals.

Rival PG Deron Williams netted 13 points with seven rebounds and four assists. He seemed very displeased with his team and their lack of effort following the loss. “Right now, we’re soft,” he said. “There’s no way around it. We have to toughen up.”

The Celtics are scheduled to take on the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, November 13th in Boston. Celtics tickets are now available!

Vince Carter first checked in to start the second quarter and proceeded to contribute for 15 points as the Orlando Magic cruised by the Charlotte Bobcats 93-81 Tuesday at Time Warner Cable Arena. Carter decided he was ready to compete yesterday since having ankle problems for the past week or two. “I was totally surprised,” Stan Van Gundy said. “He made the decision, not me. He had a good run extending the lead in the fourth quarter.”

Orlando was up 35-23 in the first and continued to build their lead throughout the second. The Bobcats made a run soon after which continued into the second half, but they lost control down the stretch in the final minutes. “We played the last four minutes of the first half with a lot of energy,” said Charlotte coach Larry Brown. “We had to fight uphill and they’re hard to guard, especially when Vince is in there.”

The Magic and Bobcats have no time to rest up with games scheduled for tonight. Orlando is set to host the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Amway Arena. Charlotte is now traveling to Detroit for their game against the Pistons.