Bobcats 114, Knicks 106
Boris Diaw scored 20 points and Stephen Jackson added 19 to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 114-106 victory over the visiting New York Knicks on Saturday.
Jackson made four 3-pointers in his return from a hamstring injury as Charlotte (30-42) won for the second straight night while attempting to make a run at landing the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Bobcats are one game behind the Indiana Pacers for the final spot.
Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points for New York (35-38), which lost its sixth straight game to fall three games below .500.
Charlotte seized control with a 24-4 run to take a 52-35 lead midway through the second quarter. The Bobcats’ run began with 14 straight points to turn a three-point deficit into an 11-point lead on Matt Carroll’s 20-foot basket.
The Bobcats led 75-55 after Diaw’s 3-pointer early in the third quarter. But New York rallied in the fourth quarter, closing to within 100-95 with 5:37 left on back-to-back 3-pointers by Anthony before Charlotte held off the charge.
Landry Fields scored 16 points and Amar’e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups had 14 points apiece for the Knicks.
D.J. Augustin had 13 points and nine assists for the Bobcats. Gerald Henderson and Shaun Livingston also tallied 13 points.