Knicks 98, 76ers 91

Led by Carmelo Anthony, New York is at last on the right kind of streak.

Anthony had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead New York past Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

New York snapped its 16-game losing streak Monday with a win against New Orleans and made it two straight with the victory against the lowly Sixers.

The Knicks won consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 30-Nov. 2.

"Guys are still having fun with the game and not letting our record keep us down," Anthony said. "We're still enjoying the game of basketball."

The Sixers' eight wins are only one more than New York's total, and each team is battling to better its odds to win the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery.

Knicks President Phil Jackson tried to tell Knicks fans better times were ahead by building around Anthony. The Sixers started the season on a 17-game losing streak and have been open about a rebuilding process that included holding a bounty of draft picks.

The teams instead played in game that was billed as "Tank Bowl."

Sixers rookie center Nerlens Noel was sent home with an illness and their 2014 No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid has not played this season.

New York (92.7) and Philadelphia (90.0) entered at the bottom of the league in scoring averages and labored to even crack 80 in this one until a surge in the final minutes.

The Knicks let a 14-point lead be sliced to three on Michael Carter-Williams' fast-break layup with 7 minutes left. MCW - as he's known around the league - had 25 points by that time but it came on 9 of 23 shooting. He finished with 27.

"I was just trying to keep us in the game," Carter-Williams said. "I was trying to keep it close and hopefully at the end we could squeeze it out."

Not this time.

Carter-Williams had one less option on offense with Noel out with the upper respiratory infection. Noel griped after Monday's blowout loss at Washington that the offense had become stagnant and the Sixers have "to be able to reward our big guys."

Coach Brett Brown said passing always remained a point of emphasis, though the responsibility, “will always be dropped on the point guard’s doorstep.”

He also downplayed any hint of a rift between two of Philadelphia’s projected cornerstones.

“It’s two friends trying to figure it out. It’s healthy,” Brown said. “These guys, they amazingly get along and coexist on buses and locker rooms and all that. Just sometimes, they don’t pass to each other. They’re so tunnel visioned, it’s not that they’re selfish.”

Both the Knicks and 76ers insist they are not tanking, fielding a noncompetitive roster in hopes of bettering the odds for high draft picks and potential franchise players. The likely prize this year is Duke center Jahlil Okafor.

Anthony opened the second half with consecutive 3s that helped the Knicks build a 61-47 lead. Robert Covington pulled the Sixers to 91-87 on a 3-pointer with 1:30 left that at least ensured that the few thousand fans that turned out would get a competitive finish.

Langston Galloway, who starred at nearby Saint Joseph’s, ended the threat of a comeback with a 3 from the corner that made it 96-89 and produced a nice roar from the Knicks fans that always make the short trip to Philly.

Nets 103, Kings 100

Brook Lopez scored 22 points and blocked six shots, leading Brooklyn to its second win in the last 10 games.

The Nets had a 23-point lead in the opening half, but the Kings eventually cut it to two late in the fourth quarter. Some clutch shooting by Joe Johnson helped preserve the victory for Brooklyn.

Johnson finished with 16 points. Jarrett Jack added 16 points and eight assists.

Sacramento lost its fifth straight game. DeMarcus Cousin had 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Rudy Gay scored 25 points.

Warriors 126, Rockets 113

Stephen Curry got involved in a rare altercation before finishing with 22 points and 10 assists, and Golden State held off Houston for its franchise-record 17th straight home win.

The typically mild-mannered Curry ran at Trevor Ariza after the Rockets forward bumped him on the way down court early in the third quarter. Curry had to be held back by teammates, and officials called a technical foul on Ariza following a video review.

The Warriors had already grabbed control by outscoring Houston 30-13 in the second quarter. They led by 30 in the third before the Rockets' reserves made the final margin closer.

Golden State swept the four-game season series against the Rockets for the first time since 1973-74.

James Harden had 33 points and six assists for Houston.

Hawks 110, Pacers 91

DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague each scored 17 points, Kyle Korver dunked for the first time in more than two years, and Atlanta tied a franchise record with its 14th straight victory in its rout of Indiana.

With the victory, the Hawks improved to a stunning 35-8 and Mike Budenholzer clinched a spot as the Eastern Conference coach in next month’s All-Star game in New York City.

Budenholzer could be taking several players with him. The Hawks romped to their 28th victory in the last 30 games, showing the kind of teamwork that has become their trademark in a season that no one saw coming.

Ten players had scored by halftime. All five starters were in double figures, and Pero Antic also had 12.

CJ Miles led the Pacers with 18 points. Indiana shot just 39.7 percent.

Thunder 105, Wizards 103 (OT)

Russell Westbrook drove for the winning layup with 0.8 seconds left in overtime, and Kevin Durant greeted the latest KC2DC craze with 34 points as Oklahoma City won its fourth straight.

Durant and Westbrook scored all 13 of the Thunder’s points in the extra period, including Durant’s throw-down dunk over Marcin Gortat and Westbrook’s surprisingly uncontested layup off of an inbounds play after Oklahoma City had called timeout with 3.6 seconds remaining.

Westbrook finished with 32 points and led a third-quarter comeback that made up a 12-point halftime deficit. Durant, the D.C. native whose 2016 free agency is much-anticipated in his hometown, added seven rebounds and broke out of a career-worst 0-for-14 slump from 3-point range by making four from long range after halftime.

Nene scored 24 points for the Wizards, including nine of Washington’s 11 points in overtime. John Wall had 28 points and 13 assists.

Hornets 78, Heat 76

Kemba Walker scored 15 points, Bismack Biyombo had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and the surging Hornets held on for the win.

Charlotte won for the eighth time in nine games despite going without a field goal in the final seven minutes. The Hornets had a 56-41 rebounding edge against the Heat, who played without Hassan Whiteside and Luol Deng.

Miami had a chance to win the game on its final possession, but Chris Bosh missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Mario Chalmers ran down the loose ball and fired up another 3 that missed from corner.

Bosh and Dwyane Wade each had 17 points for Miami.

Cavaliers 106, Jazz 92

LeBron James scored 26 points, Kevin Love added 19 and the rejuvenated Cavaliers earned their fourth consecutive victory.

Shaking off a flu bug that forced him to miss practice Tuesday and also slowed Kyrie Irving, James added nine assists and seven rebounds. The Cavs are 4-1 since the four-time MVP returned after missing eight games with a strained back and knee.

Irving added 18 points and Timofey Mozgov had 16 for Cleveland, beginning to find its stride following a stretch of injuries and two major trades. J.R. Smith scored 15 as all five Cavs starters scored at least that many for the second straight game.

Enes Kanter had 24 points and 17 rebounds for Utah, which has dropped five of six. Gordon Hayward scored 14 points.

Pelicans 96, Lakers 80

Anthony Davis scored 29 points and blocked four shots in his return from a sprained toe, leading the Pelicans to the win.

Eric Gordon had 17 points and a season-high 10 assists for New Orleans. Tyreke Evans added 19 points and Quincy Pondexter finished with 12.

Los Angeles shot 37 percent from the field in its season-long sixth consecutive loss.

Lakers star Kobe Bryant returned after missing two games as part of coach Byron Scott’s plan to give the 36-year-old guard extra rest this season. He scored 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting.

Mavericks 98, Timberwolves 75

Chandler Parsons scored 22 points, and Dallas hit 11 3-pointers.

Parsons made 9 of 13 shots and Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes for the Mavericks (30-13), who crept in front of idle Houston (29-13) for sole possession of fourth place in the demanding Western Conference.

Andrew Wiggins had 18 points for the Timberwolves (7-34), who tied a franchise mark for worst record halfway through the season. Nikola Pekovic scored 14 points in 23 minutes in his return from a 31-game absence for a right ankle injury.

The Mavericks shot 51 percent and held the Wolves to 35 percent shooting.

Pistons 128, Magic 118

Brandon Jennings had 24 points and a career-high 21 assists, and Detroit held on for the victory.

Andre Drummond added 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons, who have won 12 of 15. Detroit nearly blew a 21-point third-quarter lead, but Jennings helped the Pistons close it out in the fourth.

Nikola Vucevic led Orlando with 26 points.

Greg Monroe had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit, which never trailed. The Pistons led by 11 after the first quarter and by 17 at halftime.

Grizzlies 92, Raptors 86

Marc Gasol scored 26 points for Memphis, and Zach Randolph had 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The Grizzlies broke open a close game with a 13-3 run midway through the fourth quarter. There were 14 ties and six lead changes for the night.

Gasol was 9 for 16 from the field, and also had seven rebounds and five assists. Randolph was 8 of 14.

Toronto had five players score in double figures, but dropped to 3-8 in its last 11 games. Lou Williams scored 21 points, and Kyle Lowry had 20.

The Raptors shot 32 percent (27 for 85) from the field.

Suns 118, Trail Blazers 113

Season-high points by Eric Bledsoe with 33 and Isaiah Thomas with 27 saved Phoenix after its watched a 25-point first-half lead evaporate but still topped the Portland.

The Blazers (31-12) went up 110-105 with 2:22 to play on a 3-pointer from leading scorer Nicolas Batum, who finished with 27 points. But the Suns went on a 13-3 run to close the game and win their seventh straight home game.

Portland got 22 points each for Lillard and Wesley Matthews and 10 rebounds from Batum.

The Suns (26-18) have their longest home win streak of the season and longest since eight straight during the 2009-2010 season.