NEW YORK, N. Paul Goldschmidt Grey Jersey .Y. - One strong defensive quarter helped the New York Knicks end a seven-game skid.New York held Denver to just one basket in the second quarter en route to a 109-93 victory over the Nuggets on Sunday.The Nuggets missed their first 15 shots of the period before Ty Lawsons layup at the buzzer ended the nearly 13-minute drought. New York outscored Denver 31-8 in the quarter to blow it open.I thought probably defensively that was the difference in that quarter, Fisher said.We scored 31 points in the first quarter as well even though it may not have looked as pretty as it did in the second quarter but someway we found a way to hold them to eight points and I thought that was the difference in the game.Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, whove had their shares of moments grasping the concepts of a new offensive system, each scored 28 points to lead New York. But the Knicks first win since Nov. 2 against Charlotte boiled down to their defensive effort in the second quarter, which gave them a 62-39 lead heading into the second half.I thought in that second quarter we played great defence, buckling down, keeping them out of transition. It led to our offensive end, said Anthony, who made 10 of 14 shots from the field. Once we got stops on the defensive end, we felt confident enough to go down there and make some shots and run our offence and do what we had to do.Arron Afflalo had 18 points and Ty Lawson added 17 points and nine assists for the Nuggets, whove lost seven of their last eight games. Kenneth Faried chipped in 16 points.Afflalo, who hit 4 of 5 3-pointers and scored 13 points in the first 12 minutes of the game, had never experienced a slide like the one Denver went through in the second quarter.I noticed that we only had scored six points pretty much that whole quarter and I knew we hadnt made a few free throws, but I didnt recognize the fact that we hadnt been able to score the ball from the field, Afflalo said.Samuel Dalembert had eight points and eight rebounds for New York.Trailing by as many as 25 points after Anthonys shot made it 79-54 for the Knicks with 5:36 left in the quarter, Denver went on a 25-10 run, capped by Nate Robinsons three-point play that made it 89-80 with 8:55 in the final quarter.But New York pulled away for good with a 13-3 spurt of its own. Amare Stoudemires three-point play made it 92-80. After a free thrown by Denvers Alonzo Gee, Smith scored four straight points and Anthony hit a 3-pointer that extended New Yorks lead, 99-82 with 5:50 remaining. Lawson then added a free throw before Smith answered with a shot beyond the arc that made it 102-83 with 3:58 left.The Nuggets started out with a good rhythm in the opening quarter, hitting 6 of 9 3-pointers, but then hit their scoring drought, which started after Darrell Arthur hit a 20-footer with 50.2 seconds left that gave Denver its last lead 31-29 of the game.I thought we started out the game getting what we wanted, but it was an exchange, we were scoring, they were scoring, Denver coach Brian Shaw said. In the second quarter we were tentative offensively and we had a long drought with no penetration, turnovers missed free throws and they slowly continued to score.TIP-INSNuggets: Denver took advantage of the Knicks defence, which entered the game having given up an NBA-worst 42 per cent beyond the arc, by hitting 6 of 9 3-pointers in the first quarter.Knicks: Smith started in place of shooting guard Iman Shumpert, who sat out after suffering a right hip contusion Friday night. He made 10 of 16 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers and hit six free throws.QUICK RESTStoudemire, who had played in each of New Yorks first nine games, was back in the lineup after sitting out Friday nights loss to Utah. He scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds in 20 minutes.OFFENSIVE FUTILITYThe one basket in the second quarter wasnt the worst ever for a team as a few teams have gone a whole period without a hoop. The last of which was when Chicago held Atlanta without a basket in the third quarter of a game in 2007 according to STATS.UP NEXTNuggets: Denver plays at Cleveland on Monday night.Knicks: Travel to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday nighthttp://www.baseballdiamondbacksshop.com/yasmany-tomas-diamondbacks-jersey/ . Trevor Bauer continued that trend Sunday by taking a shutout into the seventh and Cleveland hung on for a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros. Paul Goldschmidt Red Jersey . Machado tore his medial patellofemoral ligament on Sept. 23. He decided to have surgery after consulting with several doctors.MADRID - Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal breezed into the Madrid Open third round with their title defences facing little strain on Wednesday, while Andy Murray made a successful return to clay after nearly a years absence. Williams broke Shuai Peng three times in a 6-2, 6-3 win that was her 14th straight on the clay of the Magic Box tennis centre, where the top-seeded American dominated her Chinese opponent on serve by firing 11 aces. Williams, who moves on to face Spanish player Carla Suarez Navarro, looked fresh and focused while dismissing any injury fears despite a heavily wrapped left leg. "I just had some issues and went preventive to make sure I didnt make anything worse," said Williams. "Im literally taking it one day, one match at a time, and not putting any pressure on myself." Nadal, meanwhile, certainly fed his confidence with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Juan Monaco of Argentina, just what the top-seeded Spaniard needed after coming to the Spanish capital on his worst clay run in a decade. Nadal, the greatest ever player on the red surface, failed to advance past the quarterfinals of his last two clay tournaments. But after Monaco broke to get to within 2-1, Nadal did not relent as he didnt drop another game at Manolo Santana centre court. "Each victory helps to raise your confidence," Nadal said. "I started a little nervously in my movement. I think I moved better and played well, better than I normally play on the clay. I was dominating over the points and playing very well. "I think Ive done positive things." Nadals hopes of winning a second clay event after his triumph in Rio de Janeiro this year were bolstered on Tuesday when Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka lost and Roger Federer withdrew for the birth of his second set of twins. http://www.baseballdiamondbacksshop.com/archie-bradley-diamondbacks-jersey/. Second-ranked Novak Djokovic was absent to injury. "I didnt even get to the necessary round to face them at the last tournaments," said Nadal, dismissing his chances despite the marquee absentees. "Every rival is difficult." Nadal, who faces Jarrko Nieminen of Finland next, could be on course to meet Murray in the semifinals after the Scot overcame Nicolas Almagro in a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory. Murray, who won the event in 2008 when it was held on hardcourt, hadnt played on clay since Rome last year but looked at ease in taking the first set. But Almagro rallied to force a deciding set, which Murray won when his Spanish opponent slapped a backhand wide down the line for a 39th unforced error. Also, Tomas Berdych moved to a perfect 11-0 against Kevin Anderson following his 6-1, 6-4 win over the South African, while American John Isner was also victorious in his second round match. Eleventh-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Colombian player Santiago Giraldo, who was coming off his appearance in the Barcelona final. In other womens results, third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and No. 4 Simona Halep of Romania both advanced, while Roberta Vinci of Italy knocked out Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3. Andy Murray returns to the clay for the first time in nearly one year later Wednesday against Nicolas Almagro. David Ferrer, the next highest remaining seed after Nadal at No. 5, faces John Isner. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
