NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and the New York Knicks opened the Phil Jackson era by beating the Indiana Pacers 92-86 Wednesday night for their season-high seventh straight victory. With their new team president watching from a midcourt seat, the Knicks dominated the first half, then pulled away after the Eastern Conference leaders finally got untracked in the second half. Fans stood to cheer Jackson in the first quarter and were on their feet again in the final minute to watch the Knicks beat the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. Lance Stephenson had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who had their four-game winning streak snapped and failed to extend their three-game lead over the Miami Heat, who lost to Boston earlier Wednesday. Roy Hibbert scored 20 on 8-of-10 shooting, but All-Star Paul George missed all six first-quarter shots and finished 4 for 17 for his 17 points. New Yorks previous six wins had all come against non-playoff teams, but this was against a team that seemingly had returned to form after dropping a season-worst four in a row. Amare Stoudemire added 21 points and Tyson Chandler grabbed 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who are four games behind Atlanta for the final East playoff spot. Jackson met with coaches and players earlier Wednesday, then watched the game from a seat above centre court, receiving a loud standing ovation when shown on the overhead screen during a first-quarter timeout. The 11-time champion as a coach also was on the Knicks only two title-winning teams as a player, and there was a different energy in the building during whats been a hugely disappointing season before recent days. Mike Woodson said before the game he wasnt angry that Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan had originally talked to Jackson in December about the coaching job, adding that "the city should be buzzing" over his return. (Not all of it is; a group of fans frustrated with Dolans mismanagement of the franchise went through with a previously planned protest outside the arena before the game). Anthony said he was excited about the hire, but that it was difficult to think about that with the players trying to focus on the game as they try to make a late run for a playoff spot. Hibbert scored 14 points in the third quarter to help Indiana wipe out nearly all of a 16-point deficit, and it was just a one-point game early in the fourth when George made just his second field goal. But the Knicks answered with eight in a row, going ahead 75-66 on Stoudemires basket with 7:57 remaining, and Anthony spun for a dunk and knocked down a jumper for consecutive scores after Indiana trimmed it to five with under 4 minutes to go. Woodson improved to 45-16 in March and April as Knicks coach, but New York faces an uphill climb to dig out of the hole a 2-11 February created. The Knicks shot 24 per cent in the first quarter, missing all five 3-point attempts, but had a 21-14 lead after going 9 of 10 from the free throw line. New York ran off 12 in a row to open its biggest lead at 39-23 on Stoudemires basket midway through the second, and the Pacers could only trim that to 47-35 at halftime NOTES: Andrew Bynum will be out the rest of the week resting his sore right knee. The centre aggravated his troublesome knee after playing Saturday against Detroit, his second appearance since signing with the Pacers. He has averaged 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds thus far. ... Indiana won both earlier meetings and was trying to sweep the series for the first time since 2007-08. Andrew Luck Jersey . After all, the No. 8 seed is chasing far loftier goals. Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated American Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Wimbledons second round on Thursday. Marvin Harrison Jersey . Matt Carkner got back into the Ottawa lineup, and made his presence felt right away by settling his clubs score in a one-sided fight with Rangers forward Brian Boyle. http://www.officialindianapoliscoltspro....r-colts-jersey/. J.J. Hardy drove in a run for the Orioles, who bounced back from an 8-4 loss in the series opener on Friday. Fresh off the 15-day disabled list, Derrek Lee went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Jake Arrieta (7-3) gave up three runs on five hits over six innings to pick up the win. Marshall Faulk Jersey . Masahiro Tanaka has touched down in the United States and the courting of the Rakuten Golden Eagles stud pitcher has begun in earnest by a bevy of MLB teams interested in the Japanese ace. Indianapolis Colts Jerseys . -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation.Daytona Beach, FL (SportsNetwork.com) -- NASCAR announced a radical change to its qualifying format for the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series on Wednesday, making it similar to knockout qualifying used for Formula One and IndyCar Series road/street course races. At NASCAR racetracks measuring 1.25 miles or longer in length, qualifying will consist of three rounds. Tracks measuring less than 1.25 miles will feature just two segments. NASCAR noted its revised qualifying format will not be used for the Daytona 500 (Feb. 23) and the Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway (July 23), which is the only national touring series event contested on a dirt track. It also wont be used for the Sprint Cup non-point races -- the Feb. 15 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway and the May 17 NASCAR Sprint All- Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "Were looking forward to the new qualifying format for all three of our national series this year," NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said during a teleconference. "The new format is something that weve been looking at for quite some time. The goal is providing a more fan- friendly and exciting qualifying session for each race event across the board, with the exception of the Daytona 500 and Eldora, which are unique in their own right. "NASCAR fans will be treated to highly competitive elimination-based qualifying segments that will be more engaging to the fans in the stands and those watching on television or online." For those races on tracks 1.25 miles or greater, the first qualifying elimination round will be 25 minutes in duration and includes all cars/trucks.dddddddddddd The 24 entries that post the fastest single lap from the opening segment will advance to the second round. The remaining cars/trucks will be sorted from their times in descending order posted during the first segment. The 12 cars/trucks that recorded the quickest single lap during the second round, which is 10 minutes in length, will then advance to the third and final segment, which lasts five minutes. Positions 13 through 24 will be based on lap times during the second round. Positions 1 through 12 will be determined during the final round, with the driver posting the fastest lap winning the pole position. There will be a five-minute break between each of the three qualifying rounds. For those tracks shorter than 1.25 miles, the opening segment in qualifying will be 30 minutes in duration and includes all entries. The 12 cars/trucks that recorded the fastest single lap time will advance to the second segment. The remaining field will be determined by lap times in descending order during the first round. Positions 1 through 12 will then be decided in the final segment, which is 10 minutes in length. "We believe the timing is right for this new style of qualifying, and for our drivers and teams, we believe that it will create even better competition leading into the event," Pemberton said. NASCARs new format is scheduled to be used for the first time on Feb. 21 when the Nationwide and Truck Series have qualifying for their season-openers at Daytona. Sprint Cup will utilize the format beginning with the March 2 race at Phoenix International Raceway. 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