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ATLANTA -- J.R. Smith gave the Knicks a lift in a rare start before Carmelo Anthony assumed his normal lead role against the Hawks. Anthony continued his success against Atlanta by scoring 25 points and New York regrouped after blowing a 17-point lead to beat the Hawks 95-91 on Wednesday night. It was an important win for the Knicks, who were coming off an ugly 120-89 loss to San Antonio on Sunday. "Oh, man, it was a great way to kind of get back on track," Anthony said. "Any time you can win on the road, thats always a big win." Anthony averaged 41 points against the Hawks in two games last season, bringing his career average against Atlanta to 26.9. Smith, last seasons Sixth Man of the Year, made his first start since March 9, 2012, at Milwaukee. He came off the bench in each of his 80 games last season. Smith was suspended the first five games this season for violating the NBAs anti-drug program. Coach Mike Woodson said before the game he started Smith instead of Pablo Prigioni to "see if we can get off to a better start." Smith did his part, making three of four 3-pointers in the opening period as the Knicks took a 29-24 lead. Prigioni started the second quarter and followed Smiths lead, sinking a 3-pointer to give the Knicks their first double-digit lead at 36-26. Smith finished with 12 points in only his second game of the season after off-season knee surgery. "I kind of went over my limit with him," Woodson said. "He played 32 minutes and I didnt want to go over 30. But its tough when youre trying to win games and youre turning to your trainer and asking how many minutes hes on the floor.... It makes it a little tough." The Knicks committed only six turnovers. The Hawks had 15, including four by rookie point guard Dennis Schroder in less than 9 minutes. New York outscored Atlanta 30-23 in the final period. "Much better effort than we put forth in that San Antonio game," Anthony said. "Im glad to see that we responded in that fashion and put that game behind us." The Knicks, relying on 3-pointers, led 47-30 in the second period and 55-45 at halftime. New York made only 5 of 25 shots from the field while being outscored 23-10 in the third period, leaving the Hawks with a 68-65 lead. "We took some quick shots," Anthony said. "I took some quick shots. We just had to settle down and get our composure back, get our momentum back and go from there." Anthony and the Knicks regained control after the Hawks led 78-72 early in the fourth quarter. Anthony made a free throw, driving layup and a 3-pointer to launch an 11-0 run that gave New York the lead. Andrea Bargnanis 3-pointer capped the run. Anthony made 9 of 25 shots from the field. "Hes a heck of a player," said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer. "I feel like a lot of the night we made Carmelo work for his shots, but because hes a great player he was able to make some of those tough shots. At that big moment, they needed him to step up and he did. Its a credit to Carmelo." Bargnani had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. had 14 points for New York. Jeff Teague led Atlanta with 25 points and eight assists. Al Horford had 23 points. Horford said the Hawks must learn to finish out games. "I feel good about our team," Horford said. "We just need to learn how to hold the leads and finish out these games. Weve let some of these slip away, so we need to be better in that regard." Teague said the Hawks are still coming together in Budenholzers first season. "We made mistakes," Teague said. "Were still a new group and were still trying to figure one another out. Were getting better every game. (The Knicks) have been together for a while." The Knicks made eight of their first 16 3-pointers. The Hawks missed their first nine 3s before Cartier Martin ended the drought late in the second period. NOTES: Hawks G Lou Williams has been cleared for full participation in practice as he continues to recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on Jan. 18. ... Kyle Korver made two 3-pointers and has at least one 3 in 81 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in NBA history behind Dana Barros (89). ... New Yorks Metta World Peace had four points on his 34th birthday. ... Teague made 11 of 14 free throws. ... Martin had 13 points for Atlanta. Alex Lewis Jersey Tim Williams Jersey . The Flames are in the midst of a six-game slide (0-5-1), their longest losing streak since an 0-6-3 skid from Jan. 11-28, 2010. They havent won since Nov. 3 in Chicago and most recently went winless on a three-game homestand. http://www.officialbaltimoreravensfootba...y-jersey-womens. Boston is making its first appearance in the ALCS since 2008. For Detroit, its a third straight trip to the ALCS and its fourth in eight years. ZaDarius Smith Jersey . Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise. Jimmy Smith Jersey . No such luck. Wiggins owned the end of Parkers impressive homecoming. The Kansas star scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, outplaying Parker down the stretch and helping the fifth-ranked Jayhawks knock off No.The NBA season gets underway tonight as the defending champion San Antonio Spurs play host to their bitter rivals the Dallas Mavericks followed by a matchup between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers. You can catch all the action starting at 8pm ET/5pm PT on TSN2. Spurs vs Mavericks - 8pm ET/5pm PT The San Antonio Spurs will begin defense of their NBA title on Tuesday night when they kick off the 2014-15 campaign with a home matchup against bitter rivals, the Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs will receive their championship rings in a pre-game ceremony and, for the fifth time in franchise history, San Antonio will raise a title banner. Its an unbelievable feeling, said All-Star guard Tony Parker. At the same time, its a tough night because you know youre happy and you get a ring, but you have to focus on the game. It is difficult. The Spurs are 4-0 in the previous games they received their championship rings. The Spurs cruised to a fifth title in the Tim Duncan/Gregg Popovich era in June, dismantling the Miami Heat in more ways than one. San Antonio cruised to a five-game NBA Finals victory, and LeBron James bolted South Beach, thus ending the Big Three incarnation in Miami. And, basically, the Spurs returned everyone from that title roster. Not everyone will play in the season-opener. Kawhi Leonard, the Finals MVP, will miss the game with a right eye infection, Tiago Splitter has a calf injury, and Patty Mills will miss the first few months after shoulder surgery. But Duncan, Parker, Manu Ginobili and Pop are back. The Spurs only additions this offseason were first-round pick Kyle Anderson and Becky Hammond, the first female assistant coach to start a season in the NBA. San Antonio, despite its great record in ring games, will need all hands on deck Tuesday night. The Spurs open with their inter-state rivals, a Mavericks team that gave them their most difficult challenge last postseason. Dallas took the Spurs to seven games, a feat the Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Heat all failed to reach. San Antonio gained confidence from its thrilling first-round escape. Game 7 was definitely a big one win for us, got us focused, said Parker. Then, we started rolling after that. Theres a fine line between winning and losing. The Mavericks improved this offseason with the signings of Chandler Parsons and Jameer Nelson, coupled with the trade for Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton. Chandler returns after anchoring the defense that helped Dallas win the NBA title in 2011. However, the Mavericks are still led by Dirk Nowitzki, a 12-time All-Star. The future Hall of Famer returned to the midseason classic last season, and, while excited to have his fellow big man back in Big D, Nowitzki cautioned about returning to the past. Weve got a good and deep team now, and we just want to make our own destiny, Nowitzki said. We cant always live in 2010-11. That was a great year for us, but this is almost a completely new team. But, you know, were very deep. Weve got a lot of scorers on this team and weve got a lot of playmakers. Its fun to play that way, and offensively were just sharing the ball. Hopefully, we can keep it going. The Mavs improved, but lost several solid veterans like Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert. With Nowitzki at the helm, Monta Ellis manning a wing and head coach Rick Carlisle pacing the sidelines, the Mavs should be in the thick of things come playoff time. Despite the epic seven-game Western Conference semifinal series, the Spurs have owned the Mavericks in the regular season. San Antonio has taken nine sttraight regular-season meetings, including seven consecutive in the AT&T Center.dddddddddddd Lakers vs Rockets - 10:30pm ET/7:30pm PT Kobe Bryant returns to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup Tuesday night as they open the season at the Staples Center against the Houston Rockets. Bryant played just six games last season after starting the campaign recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon. He then hurt his left knee and was shut down for the season. The 36-year-old future Hall of Famer will begin his 19th season, all with the Lakers, with the added significance, even if Bryant wants to downplay it to some degree, of returning from injury. Its step one of a long journey, said Bryant. Im excited to get back out there and I cant say I havent missed the game. I missed it so much. Im just happy to be playing. The Lakers have to be happy as well. The team endured a 27-55 campaign, the franchises worst mark in the 82-game schedule era, and only the second season under .500 since Bryant joined the NBA. Things didnt get much better in the offseason, excluding Bryants return to the lineup. Pau Gasol left the team via free agency, deciding to sign with the Chicago Bulls. Steve Nashs tenure with the team will end with a missed season due to a back injury. Mike DAntoni resigned as head coach and the Lakers, very late in the hiring process, brought back former player, Byron Scott. Hes been very successful in stops in New Orleans and with the Nets, but his recent run with the Cleveland Cavaliers was less than memorable. Jeremy Lin was acquired from the Houston Rockets, Carlos Boozer was claimed after the Bulls amnestied him and the team selected Julius Randle with its first-round pick. Nick Young, the teams leading scorer last season, will miss time at the start of the season thanks to a torn radial collateral ligament in his right thumb. The Rockets are coming off an impressive 54-28 2013-14 season, but were bounced in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs by the Portland Trail Blazers. Houston held the homecourt advantage in the series, but it didnt matter. Needing to improve, the Rockets went in the opposite direction. They lost key personnel and failed to land the big free-agent prize in the summer, despite sending rotation players packing in order to free up cap space. The Rockets shipped Lin to the Lakers and packaged Omer Asik to the New Orleans Pelicans. These moves were done with the intention of prying Chris Bosh from the Miami Heat. Seemed like the Rockets were in a good position to do that when LeBron James left the Heat for the Cavs, but Bosh re-upped with the Heat. Then, Chandler Parsons, the teams third-leading scorer last season, signed an offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks. Houston opted not to match, so Trevor Ariza was brought in as his replacement. Houston lost three key players, failed to get Bosh and has taken steps backward in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. Game starts tomorrow, so were going to have to be ready, head coach Kevin McHale said Monday. Were ready to get going and find out where were at. The Rockets still have All-NBA performers in shooting guard James Harden and center Dwight Howard. McHales squad needs to improve its rebounding, especially on the defensive side, and defense in general. Ariza is a massive upgrade defensively over Parsons, point guard Patrick Beverley made the All- Defensive second team and Howard was the Defensive Player of the Year four times. The Rockets won three of four against the Lakers last season, but are 3-6 in the last nine as the visitor in this series. 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