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Anthony's bucket lifts Knicks to 7th straight win

Apr 11, 2011 - 2:55 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Carmelo Anthony capped his 34-point game with the go-ahead bucket in the closing seconds, lifting the Knicks to a 110-109 comeback win over the Indiana Pacers in a battle of playoff teams.

After hitting the 19-footer with 4.9 seconds to go, Anthony blocked Danny Granger's attempt from the right elbow. Darren Collison had enough time to corral the loose ball, but his rushed shot in the lane fell off the mark, sealing the Knicks' seventh straight win.

"That was designed for (Billups) to come off and me to come and get the ball," Anthony said of his shot. "The shot was cool but (the Pacers) still had time to come back down and get a shot. I just buckled down and made a great defensive stop out there."

Chauncey Billups finished with 21 points and seven assists for the Knicks, who sit as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race, a game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers with two to play.

Granger, who drained a game-winner against the Knicks on March 15, had 20 points while Roy Hibbert added 19 to go with 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.

The Pacers, the East's No. 8 seed, held an 11-point lead early in the fourth and went up 109-103 on Collison's layup with 3:31 showing.

That proved to be the Pacers' last basket in their regular season finale at Conseco Fieldhouse.

"A tough loss down the stretch like that," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "(The Knicks) made the plays and we didn't."

Landry Fields' slam with 39.5 seconds on the clock pulled New York within 109-108, and Collison missed a jumper with the shot clock winding down. Ronny Turiaf grabbed the rebound, and the Knicks called timeout to draw up Anthony's go-ahead jumper.

A 33-33 game at the end of the first quarter turned in favor of the Pacers early in the second, but the Knicks hit four three-pointers in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the half to grab a 67-61 lead at the break.

An Anthony free throw pushed the advantage to 72-65 1:20 into the third quarter, but the Knicks went the next five minutes without scoring.

Indiana's subsequent 11-0 run gave the hosts the lead, and A.J. Price's buzzer-beating three-pointer yielded a 96-87 cushion heading into the fourth.

Mike Dunleavy drained a fadeaway on the first possession of the final frame, and the Knicks responded with 10 consecutive points to pull within one.

Game Notes

The Knicks will host Chicago before visiting Boston to close out the regular season...The Pacers play at Orlando on Wednesday in their finale...The Knicks posted their 19th road win, their most since the 1996-97 season...Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire sat out for a second straight game due to a left ankle injury...Collison logged 16 points.