Knicks 108, Jazz 81

There's little margin for error, and New York knows it.

They need a big finish to the regular season, and after the way they've started the last two games, maybe they have one in them.

Carmelo Anthony scored 18 of his 29 points in the first quarter, sending the Knicks to a rare easy night in a victory over Utah on Friday.

With a long way to go to get back into playoff position, the Knicks won their second straight following a seven-game losing streak. They began a favorable portion of their schedule by opening an early double-digit lead and remaining comfortably ahead the rest of the way.

They scored 39 points in the first quarter, their best in any period this season, after scoring 38 in the opening 12 minutes at Minnesota on Wednesday.

"Last two games is, we had no choice," coach Mike Woodson said. "Time is somewhat running out and every game is important."

Anthony added a season-high eight assists while playing just three quarters of a game that wasn't competitive for long after the opening tip. J.R. Smith had 17 points and Tyson Chandler finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who led by as many as 32.

"We can either cave in and let teams beat the hell out of us, or we can come out there fighting," Smith said. "Thankfully we are coming out here fighting and it starts on the defensive end."

Amare Stoudemire, who has moved into the starting lineup along with Smith, scored 10 for the Knicks. They visit Cleveland on Saturday to play one of the teams in between them and Atlanta, which currently holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York entered play 5½ games behind the Hawks.

The losing has wrecked Anthony's hopes of putting off discussion about his free-agency plans until after the season. His brief postgame questions were focused on reports that Chicago's Joakim Noah talked to him about joining the Bulls, and that the Knicks had spoken to Phil Jackson about a role in the organization's management.

"It's going to be more stories coming out, more speculation, everybody's going to have their own take on different stories, so for me I've got to focus on playing ball and that's it," Anthony said.

He did it well Friday, despite battling a cold.

Anthony scored New York's final 11 points in the first quarter, with a four-point play and another 3-pointer in the final 38 seconds as the Knicks opened a 39-22 lead on 70 percent shooting.

New York stretched the lead to 21 late in the second quarter and was ahead 60-41 at halftime.

New York is 23-40 but still has playoff aspirations due to all the weak competition at the bottom of the East. The Knicks' upcoming schedule gives them hope, with games against Philadelphia, Boston and Milwaukee, all among the NBA's worst teams, next week.

They had no trouble with the Jazz, another lowly squad that lost to the Knicks for the fifth straight time.

Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks each scored 18 for the Jazz, who dropped their fifth straight.

Rockets 112, Pacers 86

James Harden had 28 points and Houston used a huge third quarter to turn a close game into a blowout against Indiana.

Harden scored 16 in Houston's 38-point third quarter, which turned a three-point lead into a 29-point advantage. He also got into a dustup with Evan Turner that resulted in both players receiving technical fouls.

Harden and Dwight Howard went to the bench for the fourth period and watched their teammates wrap up Houston's fourth consecutive win.

David West had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers, losers of three straight for the first time this season.

Howard finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin added 11 points apiece for the Rockets.

Grizzlies 85, Bulls 77

Marc Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Memphis used its stout defense to defeat Chicago.

Mike Miller made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points as the Grizzlies closed out a three-game road trip with their third victory in four games. Zach Randolph added 10 points and 11 rebounds after missing Memphis' previous game with the flu.

The Grizzlies shut out the Bulls after Taj Gibson's layup trimmed Memphis' lead to 81-77 with 3:15 to go.

Gibson had 18 points for Chicago, which had won 10 of 12. Playing with a sprained right thumb, Joakim Noah finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but also had six of the Bulls' 13 turnovers.

Warriors 111, Hawks 97

David Lee had 18 points and six rebounds, reserve Jermaine O'Neal added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Golden State returned home to beat Atlanta for its third straight win.

Andre Iguodala and Stephen Curry each scored 13 to help the Warriors build a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter. Golden State, fresh off a 4-2 road trip, is 8-2 since the All-Star break.

Paul Millsap had 16 points and seven rebounds after missing the last five games because of a bruised right knee for the Hawks, who have lost five straight.

The only major setback for the Warriors came when shooting guard Klay Thompson limped to the locker room 6 minutes into the first quarter with a strained lower back. He did not return for precautionary reasons, the team said.

Mavericks 103, Trail Blazers 98

Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, Devin Harris hit the go-ahead shot in the final minute and Dallas rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Portland after blowing a 30-point lead.

LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 30 points for the Trail Blazers, including 18 in the third quarter when they went in front for the first time at 69-67 after trailing 44-14 early in the second.

The Mavericks snapped their season-high, three-game skid but nearly tied the franchise record for their biggest blown lead.

Aldridge also grabbed 17 rebounds and Wesley Matthews had 26 points for Portland.

Bobcats 101, Cavaliers 92

Al Jefferson scored 28 points, Kemba Walker had 20 points and 14 assists, and Charlotte defeated Cleveland for its sixth straight win at home.

Jefferson shot 12 of 18 from the field and reached 20 points for the 22nd time in his last 24 games. Chris Douglas-Roberts added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and a season-high nine rebounds for Charlotte (29-33), which surpassed its win total from the previous two seasons combined.

The Bobcats, seventh in the Eastern Conference, improved to 3-0 this season against the Cavaliers and now own the tiebreaker against both Detroit and Cleveland, the ninth- and 10th-place teams in the East.

Dion Waiters and Luol Deng each scored 19 points for Cleveland, which is 3½ games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the East.

Charlotte's six-game home winning streak is its longest since a seven-game run in March 2010.

Timberwolves 114, Pistons 101

Kevin Love had 28 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, and Minnesota outlasted Detroit.

Kevin Martin scored 24 points and Ricky Rubio added 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who are trying to mount a push for the Western Conference playoffs.

Greg Monroe had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Will Bynum scored all 17 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons. But Detroit shot 40 percent and lost for the ninth time in 11 games.

Nikola Pekovic had 17 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota.

Raptors 99, Kings 87

Terrence Ross scored 18 points to lead the Raptors over Sacramento, spoiling Rudy Gay's return to Toronto.

Gay had 15 points for the Kings, who acquired him in a seven-player deal on Dec. 9. The game marked his first trip back since he was shipped with Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy to the Kings for Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes.

Patterson and DeMar DeRozan each scored 15 points, while Jonas Valanciunas added 14 points and Amir Johnson had nine rebounds to go with nine points for the Raptors, who have won eight of 10.

DeMarcus Cousins topped Sacramento with 24 points.

Pelicans 112, Bucks 104

Anthony Davis had 29 points and 14 rebounds, and New Orleans defeated struggling Milwaukee.

Tyreke Evans scored 25 points for the Pelicans, who have won two straight after losing their previous eight games. Anthony Morrow added 16 points, including a 3-pointer as he was fouled to give the Pelicans their largest lead at 100-90 with 4:50 left. Brian Roberts scored 14 and Eric Gordon 12 for New Orleans.

Khris Middleton scored 25 for Milwaukee, which lost its second straight. Jeff Adrien added 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Milwaukee played without starting forward Ersan Ilyasova, suspended for throwing a punch in a game Wednesday. The Bucks then lost guard O.J. Mayo to an ejection for a flagrant-2 foul late in the first quarter.

Nuggets 134, Lakers 126

Kenneth Faried scored a career-high 32 points and Ty Lawson had 30 in Denver's victory over skidding Los Angeles.

Lawson also had 17 assists and Faried grabbed 13 rebounds. Wilson Chandler had 19 points, and Timofey Mozgov and Evan Fournier added 13 apiece for the Nuggets, who swept the three-game season series.

Pau Gasol scored 27 points to lead the Lakers in their third straight defeat and sixth in eight games. This one ensured their first losing season since going 34-48 in 2004-05.

Jordan Farmar and Robert Sacre had 24 points apiece for the Lakers, who were coming off a 142-94 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. The 48-point defeat was the biggest in franchise history.