New York Knicks Move to Sixth Seed in the East by Beating the Philadelphia 76ers

Before tipoff on Wednesday night, the New York Knicks were in seventh place in the Eastern Conference behind the Philadelphia 76ers. When the final buzzer sounded to seal a 97-92 Knicks win the roles were reversed.

The Knicks extended their winning streak to five games behind strong a strong performance from Carmelo Anthony. He had 31 points in the game and 11 rebounds, even though he sat out for nearly five minutes in the fourth quarter with foul trouble.

Even with Anthony playing well it was a tough game. At one point the Knicks had a 19 point lead but the 76ers rallied back to go up by one. With 1:27 left in the game Toney Douglas hit a three point shot to make the score 90-88 in favor of the Knicks. He hit two free throws with 42 seconds on the clock to make the lead four.

On the other end of the court Andre Iguodala hit a big three point shot to cut the lead to one, but Anthony answered with a three of his own, pushing the lead back to four.

The Knicks won the game but they may have lost center Amare Stoudemire for at least a game. The star sprained his left ankle in the fourth quarter. About Friday's game at New Jersey Stoudemire said, "Hopefully, I can go."

The 76ers were lead by Thaddeus Young and Elton Brand who combined for 49 points. Their star Iguodala was less than brilliant. He shot only 5-15 from the field and scored only 15 points in the game.

The Knicks also had a scare when Chauncey Billups went down in the third quarter. He was helped off the court and was later diagnosed with a bruised right thigh. The same kind of injury that kept him out of the lineup earlier this year. They are hoping that it is nothing serious and he can return quickly.