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Playoff-hopeful Bobcats hold off reeling Knicks

Mar 27, 2011 - 4:00 AM Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Boris Diaw scored 20 points to lead eight Charlotte players in double figures, and the Bobcats held on for a 114-106 victory over New York, sending the spiraling Knicks to their sixth straight loss.

The Bobcats, meanwhile, beat their second postseason contender in as many days after rallying for a two-point victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday.

They moved within one game of Indiana for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"We needed this so bad," said Charlotte head coach Paul Silas. "[The Knicks] needed it too, so it was whoever wanted it the most. And we did."

Stephen Jackson returned to the lineup and scored 19 points for Charlotte, while D.J. Augustin, Gerald Henderson and Shaun Livingston added 13 apiece in the win.

Carmelo Anthony poured in 36 points for New York, but the Knicks fell to just 7-12 since trading for him in a blockbuster deal last month. They remained seventh in the Eastern Conference, but fell 2 1/2 games behind idle Philadelphia for the No. 6 spot.

"There is a little anxiety," Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni said of his team's demeanor on the court, "there is a little 'Oh, my gosh.' But I think the locker room's great and I think they know where they are. They know the situation.

"I'm encouraged that tonight was better. But I know a loss is a loss."

The Bobcats never trailed in the second half and scored 100 points for the first time since a 110-98 victory over Sacramento on February 25. They shot better than 47 percent, including nearly 61 percent in a 34-20 second quarter that gave them the lead for good.

"I was just so pleased with how we executed offensively," said Silas. "We played good defensively, but our offensive execution was really good."

New York's 31-30 lead after the first quarter was their last of the game. The Bobcats used an extended 14-0 run that spanned the first and second to move ahead by 11.

Their lead ballooned to 17 and was 64-51 at halftime. It got as high as 20 in the third quarter and was 92-79 heading into the fourth.

The Knicks showed a little spark down the stretch, but to no avail. Anthony hit back-to-back three-pointers to cap a 10-0 burst that pulled them within 100-95 with 5:38 remaining.

But Kwame Brown, who scored 11 for Charlotte, followed with a bucket and Augustin drove around Chauncey Billups for a layup that put the Bobcats ahead by nine.

Jackson had a key tip-in later to keep the lead at nine, and the Knicks only got as close as four down the stretch, never making it a one-possession game.

Game Notes

Before Saturday's game in Charlotte, the Knicks had dropped three straight games at home. They will return to Madison Square Garden for four games against Orlando, New Jersey, Cleveland and Toronto.