NEW YORK – Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points and the New York Knicks improved their best start in nearly two decades to 4-0 with a 104-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

J.R. Smith added 22 points for the Knicks, the only unbeaten team remaining in the NBA. They hadn’t been perfect after four games since the 1993-94 team started 7-0 en route to the NBA finals.

O.J. Mayo scored 23 points for the Mavericks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and lost to the Knicks for just the fourth time in the last 22 meetings.

 

NETS 107, MAGIC 68: Andray Blatche had 15 points, Brook Lopez added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Brooklyn never trailed at Orlando, Fla., while snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Magic that dated to 2009.

 

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HEAT 95, HAWKS 89: LeBron James scored 21 points, including the clinching jumper with 13.6 seconds remaining, and visiting Miami earned its fourth straight win.

Jeff Teague hit consecutive 3-pointers as the Hawks rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter. But Josh Smith, on an awful night, missed two free throws with just over a minute remaining, and James finished off Atlanta after the teams traded turnovers.

James muscled away from DeShawn Stevenson, swished a 15-foot jumper and hopped along the sideline in front of the Atlanta crowd. The Heat won without Dwyane Wade, who didn’t play because of a cold.

Chris Bosh led Miami with 24 points. James added 11 rebounds and nine assists.

 

BUCKS 101, WIZARDS 91: Monta Ellis scored 22 points, and Milwaukee quickly erased an early deficit before pulling away with a 13-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters in a win at Washington. Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings and Washington’s Bradley Beal were ejected in the final minute.

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Washington fell to 0-4 despite 22 points from Beal, the No. 3 overall pick in June’s NBA draft, and a combined 26 from veterans Trevor Ariza (15) and Emeka Okafor (11), matching their output from the team’s first three games.

 

HORNETS 107, BOBCATS 99: Anthony Davis had 23 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in his first game back after a concussion, and homestanding New Orleans handed Charlotte its third straight loss.

Ryan Anderson hit five 3-pointers and finished with 25 points for New Orleans, which has won three of its first five games despite being without injured star guard Eric Gordon.

 

THUNDER 105, PISTONS 94: Serge Ibaka scored a career-high 25 points, Kevin Durant added a season-high 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Oklahoma City broke in its new alternate jerseys by winning at Oklahoma City.

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The Thunder scored nine straight points soon after Durant checked back into the game midway through the fourth quarter, stretching their lead to 93-77 after the three-time NBA scoring champion hit two free throws with 5:47 to play.

 

TIMBERWOLVES 96, PACERS 94: Chase Budinger converted a layup on a feed from Andrei Kirilenko with 0.8 seconds to go, lifting Minnesota to a win at Minneapolis.

Budinger scored 18 points while subbing for the injured Brandon Roy. Alexey Shved had 11 points and seven assists, and Nikola Pekovic added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves.

 

GRIZZLIES 93, ROCKETS 85: Zach Randolph had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Rudy Gay finished with 21 points and a key basket with 1:03 left, and Memphis won its fourth straight game with a victory at Memphis, Tenn.

 


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