Knicks 111, Nets 100

Amare Stoudemire scored 35 points and New York broke open a close game right after New Jersey lost point guard Devin Harris to injury, beating the Nets Tuesday night.

Wilson Chandler added 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who won for the seventh time in eight games and improved to 10-9, the latest in a season they've been above .500 since they were 16-15 on Jan. 4, 2005. Raymond Felton finished with 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.

Harris limped to the back with a left knee injury after he was hurt on Chandler's basket that snapped a 65-all tie midway through the third quarter. That was part of a 14-2 spurt that gave the Knicks a 10-point lead, and they were never really challenged from there.

Brook Lopez scored a season-high 36 points for the Nets and Jordan Farmar had 17, trying to pick up the load after Harris was lost.

Harris, tied for the Nets' scoring lead with 18.2 points per game, was hurt when teammate Kris Humphries landed on the back of his leg trying to block Chandler's fast-break layup. He remained on the court for a few minutes, then limped to the locker room with a Nets trainer.

Chandler then made two free throws, and after a follow shot by Lopez, the Knicks ran off eight in a row, with Stoudemire's dunk off a pass from Felton extending it to 77-67 with 3:15 remaining in the quarter. The Knicks outscored the Nets 33-15 in the third, taking an 88-73 lead to the final quarter, and Stoudemire kept it from getting close in the last 12 minutes by scoring 10 points.

Nets coach Avery Johnson cited Stoudemire as a reason the Knicks are currently ahead of the Nets as both try to build the top team in the area. They made the first two pitches to LeBron James in July and either would eagerly take Carmelo Anthony if he leaves Denver, but only New York has been able to land a superstar when it signed the former All-Star forward from Phoenix.

Both will play in New York once the Nets move to Brooklyn in 2012, but for now their rivalry mostly exists off the court. The Nets put a billboard featuring owner Mikhail Prokhorov and part-owner Jay-Z near Madison Square Garden, and the Knicks responded by putting Stoudemire on an ad near the site of the Barclays Center will stand in Brooklyn.

An ad ran during MSG Network's telecast of the Knicks' victory at Detroit on Sunday advertising this game by telling the Nets, "You can walk like us, you can talk like us, but you ain't never gonna be like us."

The Nets fired back in an e-mailed statement from Prokhorov on Tuesday that read: "I don't think we want to be like the Knicks. I think we'd more like to resemble the Lakers."

But both Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and Johnson dismissed the idea of a rivalry until it involves postseason meetings between the teams.

"You don't really get a rivalry unless you're in the playoffs," D'Antoni said. "It doesn't work during the regular season when you're (saying), 'Oh boy, we knocked them out of ninth place."'

Lopez scored 15 points in the first quarter, but the Knicks led 30-28. The Nets had a 58-55 lead at the break.

Grizzlies 98, Lakers 96

Mike Conley scored 10 of his season-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, and Memphis beat Los Angeles, sending the defending champs to their third straight loss.

It's just the second three-game skid for the Lakers since they traded with Memphis for Pau Gasol to team him up with Kobe Bryant and first since March.

The Grizzlies now have won four straight at home and four of five overall.

The Lakers had a chance to at least tie the game or win at the end. Conley lost the ball when he drove the lane and crashed into Pau Gasol. Kobe Bryant passed to Ron Artest for a 3-pointer for the win, but Rudy Gay blocked the shot as the Grizzlies held on for their second win in four games against the defending champions.

Gay finished with 14 points. Zach Randolph had 13 and eight rebounds. Xavier Henry had 12, Marc Gasol had 10 and nine rebounds. O.J. Mayo had 11 points off the bench.

Bryant finished with a game-high 29 points but was 9-of-25 from the floor, including 1-of-6 outside the arc. Pau Gasol had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

76ers 88, Trail Blazers 79

Elton Brand scored 18 points while Jrue Holiday and Andres Nocioni added 11 each to help Philadelphia beat Portland.

Philadelphia trailed 72-70 midway through the fourth, before going on a 15-4 run that put the game away with 1:50 left. Andre Iguodala, who entered the game averaging 14.8 points, was held to seven - although four came in the fourth quarter.

Wesley Matthews scored 26 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 for the Blazers, who struggled again in the fourth quarter.

They managed only 13 fourth-quarter points in a 97-78 home loss to New Orleans on Friday, then collected just 18 points in the final period in a loss to New Jersey.

The Blazers were even worse on Tuesday, scoring just 11 points in the final period. Portland was 4-for-20 from the field in the period. It was the second game of a four-game East Coast stretch for the Blazers, who have dropped four straight.

The teams played evenly through the first two quarters, with Philadelphia holding a 47-46 lead at halftime. The Blazers built an eight-point lead thanks to a 10-1 run to start the third quarter, their biggest advantage of the game.

Many of those baskets came on layups, as Portland consistency fed the ball inside. The Sixers adjusted and forced the Trail Blazers into lower percentage shots.

Magic 90, Pistons 79

Mickael Pietrus scored 13 points, J.J. Redick had 10 points and the two reserves combined to help Orlando pull away for a victory over Detroit t.

Rashard Lewis had 20 points, and Vince Carter added 13 in a win against a Detroit franchise that has caused Orlando headaches for years. The Magic have won seven of their past eight games.

Tayshuan Prince had 16 points and Rodney Stuckey scored 14 points, not nearly enough for Detroit to avoid their fourth loss in the past five games.

The Pistons have been a pest for the Magic for years, eliminating Orlando from the playoffs in 2003, 2007 and 2008. Not that the Magic have ever had an easy time with them in the regular season.

Detroit's Ben Wallace had nine rebounds, surpassing 10,000 for his career. And for a while, it looked as if there would be many more highlights for Detroit on this night.