CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Leave it to a Syracuse guy to spoil Patrick Ewings NBA head coaching debut. Carmelo Anthony had 28 points and eight rebounds, Andrea Bargnani added 25 points and the New York Knicks beat Ewings Bobcats 101-91 Friday night to snap a three-game losing streak. Ewing, the former Georgetown star who spent 15 seasons with the Knicks, filled in as Charlottes coach after Steve Clifford underwent a successful procedure earlier in the day to have two stents placed in his heart. Clifford checked himself into the hospital late Thursday night with chest pain. The Bobcats havent said when they expect Clifford to return to the bench. "Unfortunately I didnt get my first win," Ewing said. "I was nervous at first but once the game started I was able to calm down and do my thing." The Knicks did their thing right from the opening tip, looking for the first time this season like the playoff team they were a year ago. After Tuesday nights 102-97 loss to the Bobcats, the Knicks held a players-only meeting. Whatever was said apparently worked. "Sometimes you need to get together and talk and communicate and figure out what the problem is, whats the issue," Anthony said. "We responded well tonight." The Knicks played with a passion thats been absent of late and drew the ire of owner James Dolan. Behind Anthony, who once led Syracuse to a national title, things looked a lot better. "We played like our backs were against the wall," Anthony said. "It was a must-win for us. This early in the season when you talk about must-wins, something obviously is going wrong. But we corrected that." Bargnani is a big reason why. Filling in at centre for the injured Tyson Chandler, Bargnani hit 11 of 25 shots from the field -- including three 3-pointers -- had eight rebounds and blocked five shots. It was his first 20-point game since March 4. Bargnani said he learned a lesson along the way. "Dont be hesitant and just play my game and go out there and do what Ive always done all these years," Bargnani said. "I got to be more aggressive on the offence." Said Anthony: "It seemed like tonight he wasnt hesitating and he had that shoot-first mentality, which I like." Kemba Walker, who led the Bobcats with 25 points, said thats where his team fell short. Walker said the Bobcats lack of energy, not Ewings coaching ability, is the reason Charlotte had its two-game win streak snapped. "Our energy level from the get go wasnt so great," Walker said. "I thought (Ewing) did great. It was us, the players. We are the ones on the court out there playing. We just have to pick up the intensity." The Knicks shot 75 per cent from the field in the third quarter -- including six of seven 3-point attempts -- to blow open a tight game and snap a three-game losing skid. Raymond Felton added 15 points for the Knicks (2-3). The Knicks opened an 18-point lead in the third quarter, but the Bobcats whittled it down to 10 at one point. The game changed after a Knicks timeout. Metta World Peace gave New York a boost by knocking down a 3-pointer, then making a steal and finding Tim Hardaway Jr. in transition for another 3. Pablo Prigionis 3 stretched the lead back to 19 and the Bobcats never challenged again. On Tuesday night, Anthony scored 32 points but shot just 10 of 32 against the Bobcats. He was more efficient in the rematch, shooting 12 of 22 with six assists. Anthony hurt the Bobcats in a variety of ways -- with fall-away jumpers, drives to the basket and with physical play inside outmuscling the younger, less experienced Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeffery Taylor in the low post for easy shots. Ewing has been an NBA assistant for 10 years, but this was his first game as a head coach. It came against a team that he played for from 1985-2000. "Coach Clifford and I have been friends for a lot of years -- weve worked together for over 10 years now -- and this is definitely not the way I wanted to start my head coaching career with him being in the hospital," Ewing said before the game. The 7-foot Ewing towered above over a group of smaller referees as he spoke with them periodically from the bench. He stayed calm for the most part, sitting and watching rather than standing and yelling. At one point he pleaded with officials for a goaltending call when Ramon Sessions drove to the basket and was fouled by raising his long right arm to signal the ball was on its way down. NOTES: The Bobcats entered as the second-worst free throw shooting team in the league, but hit 19 of 20 foul shots in the first half. ... The Bobcats continue to play without Al Jefferson, who is out with a sprained ankle. ... The Knicks shot 46 per cent from 3-point range. . The 36-year-old Austrian, who is considering retirement after the season, came runner-up to Olympic champion Ted Ligety in a giant slalom on the Podkoren course on Saturday. As a 21-year-old, Raich finished third in a slalom here on Jan. [url=http://www.thesteelersstoreonline.com/Black-98-Vince-Williams-Womens-Jersey... Williams Womens Jersey .Y. -- Sabres President Pat LaFontaines two-month search for a general manager ended with an unexpected addition. ht... . -- Washingtons Bradley Beal seemed to make every shot he took in setting a career high with 37 points. [url=http://www.thesteelersstoreonline.com/Black-48-Bud-Dupree-Womens-Jersey/]Bu... Dupree Jersey . Offensive co-ordinator Mike Sherman was fired Monday, the first change by the team since the holiday collapse. Coach Joe Philbin defended Sherman the day after the season, but owner Stephen Ross was expected to demand some sort of shake-up following the dismal finish. . Watch the game on TSN2 starting at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Kings have lost back-to-back games for just the fourth time this season and have done so in regulation for the first time since Oct.The sold out ticket announcement for Sundays match between Rugby Canada and the New Zealand Maori All Blacks at BMO Field means it will be the largest crowd in modern Canadian rugby history. Billboards around Toronto and popup ads on the internet are heavy with the games tagline of Face the Haka, but past the attendance numbers and one of the worlds most famous pre-game rituals, a lot of uncertainty surrounds the match itself. The haka fully deserves the amount of clever marketing attention its receiving but to only look forward to a ceremony and not the subsequent 80-minute match is the sporting equivalent of a bride caring too much about her wedding and forgetting about the marriage itself (insert stat about current divorce rate...). Sunday is a loaded match, as its only the fifth time in history Canada has faced the haka/played the Maori, and a heavy personnel change for both sides since their last meeting in November 2012 makes the exact game difficult to predict. The Maori All Blacks have named arguably their strongest side, signaling clear intentions and demonstrating how the program is being used in a high performance direction alongside the All Blacks. The Maori, working closely with the national team selectors, have named a clear seasoned leader in each position to help develop the younger players surely destined for the full All Blacks jersey. Canadians will recognize a few Maori players named in the starting 23 from the All Blacks at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and will especially remember the name Zac Guildford as he dotted down four times against the Canucks in their pool match in Wellington. This tour serves as a great opportunity and redemption for gifted Guildford after a spate of alcohol-related incidents saw his contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union almost terminated. Because the game on Sunday falls outside the IRBs November international window, Canada has exercised their right to hold off on naming a lineup until the morning of the game. Gripping their cards so close to their chest makes the game very hard to preview from a media standpoint, but it also signals how seriously they are taking this match - even though its not a full international test. Canada lost all four of their matches to the Maori since 2003 but have narrowed the differential every time and the game at Oxford last year was the closest yet. In front of packed grounds at Iffley Road, home of Oxford University, the normally convincing Maori werent for the full 80, racking up too many penalties but still earning a 32-19 victory. A very late try out wide to the Maori in that game meant the eventual score line did not reflect the Canadians efforts, who were still within a converted try of a scalp with eight minutes remaining. Had the Canadians been slightly better with ball in hand and ball retention, the game could have been even closer. But two veery different sides will line up on Sunday compared to a year ago.dddddddddddd The kickers who combined for 32 points in that match are gone, the Maori have a new coach, a new captain and only one returner in the front row in their 23 and Canada are missing eight of their top players because of professional commitments. 14 of the 30 players who started for Canada or the Maori last year are completely gone from their 26-man rosters due to non-selection, injuries or not being released by professional clubs. With so many question marks in terms of specifics, one has to step back and compare the front of the jerseys as opposed to whos wearing the numbers on the back. The culture and history of the NZ Maori runs deeper than the traceable bloodlines of each player on their team, and much deeper than what any outsider could comprehend. This is partially why the haka stirs so much intrigue; it gives everyone else a taste of the fierce pride of the Maori culture that is normally subliminal behind their laid back and friendly demeanor. At a press conference on Wednesday, the word culture passed the lips of Maori captain Tim Bateman and new Maori coach Colin Cooper countless times. A former Maori player, coach Cooper spoke of his teams mana, a Maori word meaning honour, and how it would help bring his team together. "The challenge is coming here on a short turnaround to take on Canada in their backyard. What will help us probably is that were Maori and (that) will galvanize us - team unity will be brought together by our culture." This culture and mana means it usually doesnt matter which 23 players fill the Black jerseys, an expectation is there. Canadas coach Kieran Crowley, who played and coached with Cooper at Taranaki in New Zealand, hopes establishing a clear pathway to the Canadian national team will help develop a strong team culture. "When I first began (coaching Canada), I couldnt see a clear path. Weve worked hard to do that and now I can. This will help create team culture and most importantly, consistency." Crowley said consistency remains Canadas focus and will be how he will measure his teams long-term success. Hopefully, this Canada/USA New Zealand Maori Tour will become an annual fixture on the rugby calendar as it is sponsored by AIG, who are looking to grow the sport into a lucrative North American frontier. If so, it would provide an ideal medium for both programs to develop exactly what the two coaches identified - culture and consistency. Canada would have a perfect benchmark to measure itself as a program too, and New Zealand is given an opportunity to grow the All Blacks brand globally while still protecting and sharing the Maori culture on its terms. The tour also presents an opportunity to strengthen the culture within the Maori squad - everyone knows the value of a good road trip. [url=http://www.cheapnfljerseys2015.us.com/]cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '