Begrüßung » emature return could bring on a stress fracture,

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Langston Galloway and Lance Thomas are winning over fans and helping the Knicks win games.Maybe this is the start of Lansanity.Carmelo Anthony had 31 points and 10 rebounds, Thomas scored a season-high 17 points against his former team and New York beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-92 on Wednesday night.Galloway added 18 points and his fearless shotmaking had Anthony recalling Jeremy Lin, another unheralded player who made a big impact during the brief run of Linsanity in 2012.Everybody loves the underdog story, Anthony said.Tim Hardaway Jr. hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, finishing with 14 for the Knicks, who won for the fourth time in five games, representing nearly half of their nine victories on the season.In this league everybodys a professional, so I feel like if you bring it then you have a chance to beat anybody in the NBA, Thomas said. And with the effort were putting forward, were keeping ourselves in games.Russell Westbrook scored 40 points on 13-of-30 shooting for the Thunder, who were without Kevin Durant for a second straight game because of a sprained big toe on his left foot.I just had to play my game, Westbrook said. Tried to help us find a way to win the game. I didnt do a good job of that.Westbrook blitzed the Knicks in his return from injury in November, leading the Thunder to a 27-point romp. But behind players such as Galloway and Thomas, who werent around then, the Knicks continued their best stretch of the season.Thomas was originally acquired earlier this month from Oklahoma City as part of a three-team trade with Cleveland, then waived and later re-signed. He is on his second 10-day contract and making a good case to stick around, as Galloway will after signing for the remainder of the season on Tuesday.Lance plays hard. He plays every possession like its Game 7 of a championship series. Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. Thats why hes in the league and thats why hes going to play another 10 years. When you have guys like that, you win.The Knicks had an 82-73 lead after Hardaway made consecutive 3-pointers, then fed Thomas for a basket. Westbrook scored seven straight to make it a two-point game, but Anthony had a pair of baskets before Hardaway nailed another 3 to cap a 10-0 spurt that extended it to 92-80.Oklahoma City would get it down to 95-90 before Thomas knocked down a jumper with 46 seconds to play. The Thunder didnt make another field goal.Westbrook had stretches of brilliance, including a 3-pointer just before halftime where he essentially landed on top of Galloway, believing he was fouled. But without Durant, the Thunder didnt have nearly enough balance and fell to 23-23. Perry Jones, starting in the league MVPs place, missed all five shots and was scoreless.Jason Smith had 11 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Knicks.TIP-INSThunder: Center Steven Adams was chosen Wednesday to play in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend. The New Zealand product will play for the World team against the U.S. in the game featuring rookies and second-year players. ... Oklahoma City opened a two-game trip after playing its only home game in the final two weeks of January on Monday. Brooks said it feels like the Thunder have been on the road since the new year. They will practice in New York on Thursday and visit Memphis on Saturday.Knicks: Besides his previous knee problems, Amare Stoudemire was also bothered by ankle and wrist injuries, coach Derek Fisher said. ... The game was originally scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN. It is one of eight Knicks games that have been removed from the NBAs national TV schedule.ANTHONYS ACHESBattling knee soreness for much of the season, Anthony has said he would need to evaluate his availability for back-to-backs, but wasnt ready to do that after Wednesdays game. The Knicks play Thursday in Indiana.Ill see tomorrow, he said. When I get up Ill see how everything reacts and well go from there.UP NEXTThunder: Visit Memphis on Saturday.Knicks: Visit Indiana on Thursday. Mike Davis Jersey . Modin, 36, tallied seven goals and three assists in 36 games with the Thrashers this season. The Sundsvall, Sweden, native has posted 232 goals and 230 assists in 894 career NHL games with Toronto, Tampa Bay, Columbus, Los Angeles and Atlanta and has appeared in 57 post-season contests, helping the Lightning capture the 2004 Stanley Cup Championship. Kyle Fuller Jersey . -- Former NHL star Jeremy Roenick shot a second-round 69 to take the lead after 36 holes and former LPGA great Annika Sorenstam and Chad Pfeifer, who lost his left leg above the knee serving in Iraq, are among several players in contention in the American Century Championship tournament on Saturday. http://www.cheapbearsjerseysauthentic.co...-simmons-jersey. Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Aaron Lynch Jersey . -- Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing went through his mind: "Youve got to tie up your skates. Adam Shaheen Jersey . Rasmussen didnt have a decision during his four appearances in May, when he gave up two hits and no runs in two innings. Toronto used five relievers while pulling off the second-biggest comeback in franchise history on Friday night, rallying from an 8-0 deficit to a 14-9 win.MINNEAPOLIS - Ricky Rubio is one game away from returning to the Minnesota Timberwolves.Rubio has been cleared to play Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement has not been made.Rubio has been out since severely injuring his left ankle Nov. 7. He will have missed 43 games because of the injury, and the Wolves sunk to the bottom of the league without him.They were 8-38 entering Saturday nights game against Cleveland. When he returns, the team plans to restrict his minutes until after the All-Star break while he sees how his ankle responds.Coach Flip Saunders said before the Cavaliers game that nothing is set in stone.Hes seen three specialists and all of them have cleared him if things are OK come Monday, Saunders said. They have OKd him to be able to play on a limited time basis. We will have to wait until Monday pretty much comes.Rubio signed a four-year, $54 million contract extension before the season and helped the Wolves get off to a promising start before going down with the first ankle injury of his career.The slick-passing point guards return is the latest in a series of important developments on the injury front for the Timberwolves, following Nikola Pekovics return from a 31-game absence due to foot and ankle issues on Jan. 21 and Kevin Martins return on Wednesday from 34 games away with a fractured right wrist.The trio was expected to lead the way for the Wolves early in the first season without Kevin Love, whose trade to Cleveland ushered in yet another rebuilding plan for a team that hasnt made the playoffs since 2004. President of basketball operations and coach Flip Saunders envisioned a blended team as he called it, one in which the veterans like Rubio, Martin, Pekovic and Thaddeus Young did the bulk of the work while rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine and sophomores Anthony Bennett, Shabazz Muhammad annd Gorgui Dieng could ease into things.ddddddddddddThat all faded in the fifth game of the season when Rubio stepped on the foot of an Orlando defender on a drive to the hoop. He suffered a severe sprain and damage to muscles and ligaments from his ankle to his toes.The Timberwolves were 2-2 at the time with tight losses to Memphis and Chicago. But Rubios absence forced LaVine to play out of position at point guard and veteran Mo Williams to shoulder more of the playmaking responsibility after signing a one-year deal last summer.They lost the first five games without Rubio, Pekovics chronic foot problems returned later in that same road trip and Martin broke his wrist on Nov. 19. The Wolves won just three times in 32 games, effectively burying themselves before the new year even started.Rubios return is the key, with his pass-first mentality and ability to defend at the point expected to bolster the Wolves lacklustredefence and hasten the development of Wiggins and the rest of the younger players.Rubio has been pressing hard to return to action, but the Timberwolves are taking no chances with their franchise point guard. Saunders said last week that doctors cautioned a premature return could bring on a stress fracture, which would result in another long absence.Wolves doctors and athletic trainer Gregg Farnam have closely monitored his progress. He started practicing about two weeks ago and has been going through strenuous workouts prior to each game this week to work his way back.Saunders said the extended absence may be a blessing in disguise because it gave him time to remake his jumpshot, which has always been the weakest part of his game. Rubio has spent hours with shooting coach Mike Penberthy to get more arc on his jumper.We might look back in a year and say maybe the best thing that ever happened was having those three months off where he was able to really break down his shot a