NEW YORK—Go on, all you Raptor fans who mocked coach Dwane Casey and his “pound the rock” mantra and rolled your eyes at the thought of some 1,300-pound boulder as some talisman for the season.

Make light if you will but in the aftermath of a rather impressive victory, a guy who’d struggled all season before playing a significant role in a 90-85 road win invoked the rock, the mantra and the importance of doing your job every day because good results may come at any time.

“There are no moral victories and for us to come through tonight was good because we’re a young team and it’s going to help us with our confidence and knowing we can win tough games by closing them out,” said Rasual Butler, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.

“That’s why coach (Dwane) Casey and the coaching staff, we have this statement: Pound the rock. We know it’s going to take work, just like the statement says, it might be the 101st time that you finally crack the rock; you have to continue to work every day.”

Casey has tried to instill that kind of work ethic in a team that, so far this season, has responded with a consistently hard effort.

But before Monday night, they hadn’t had any tangible things to show for it.

They’d dropped three games in a row, blown good leads in the last two, and another group might have been in danger of throwing up their arms at the futility of it all and taking at least a night off.

But this team didn’t.

And when the Knicks made an inevitable run and carved an 18-point lead to one with just over a minute remaining, they found some inner reserve to make the right play and fight through the mental fatigue.

Andrea Bargnani made a clutch jumper in the low post to make it a three-point game and then matched a Knicks basket with two clutch free throws with 17.7 seconds left.

And after the Raptors forced Carmelo Anthony into badly missing a potential game-tying three with 13.2 seconds left, Anthony Carter sealed the game with two foul shots of his own.

“At halftime, we talked about that: they were going to make a run, we needed to keep our composure, make the easy plays,” said Casey. “We still had 18 turnovers, that’s way too many turnovers for us. Great win for us but we’ve got to learn from it and cut down on our turnovers.”

Bargnani finished with 21 points, the same as DeMar DeRozan, as the Raptors were finally rewarded with a win from a good night’s work.

“(Sunday) coach told us to stick with what we were doing,” said Bargnani. “Keep working, keep doing the same thing because it was working . . . we just had to finish the game.

“That’s what we did today, we finished the game. We played for 48 minutes and in the fourth quarter, we made really good decisions.”

Jose Calderon, with nine points and 12 assists, logged a season-high 43 minutes but calmed things down offensively late in the game when the Raptors needed it most.

Anthony led the Knicks with 35 points and Toney Douglas had 22.

The Raptors did have the benefit of catching a Knicks team with a barren bench and a distinct lack of offensive firepower.

Amar’e Stoudemire missed the game with a bad ankle, a knee injury has rookie Iman Shumpert on the inactive list, and Baron Davis is still weeks away from being able to even practise.

Stoudemire, who hurt the ankle on Thursday against the Lakers, said before the game that he could be back Wednesday night against the Charlotte Bobcats, but that there were no guarantees.

That means extended minutes for the likes of rookie Josh Harrellson, who was a nonfactor, and a thin bench that puts all kinds of pressure on the starters to play long minutes.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

NEW YORK—Go on, all you Raptor fans who mocked coach Dwane Casey and his “pound the rock” mantra and rolled your eyes at the thought of some 1,300-pound boulder as some talisman for the season.

Make light if you will but in the aftermath of a rather impressive victory, a guy who’d struggled all season before playing a significant role in a 90-85 road win invoked the rock, the mantra and the importance of doing your job every day because good results may come at any time.

“There are no moral victories and for us to come through tonight was good because we’re a young team and it’s going to help us with our confidence and knowing we can win tough games by closing them out,” said Rasual Butler, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.

“That’s why coach (Dwane) Casey and the coaching staff, we have this statement: Pound the rock. We know it’s going to take work, just like the statement says, it might be the 101st time that you finally crack the rock; you have to continue to work every day.”

Casey has tried to instill that kind of work ethic in a team that, so far this season, has responded with a consistently hard effort.

But before Monday night, they hadn’t had any tangible things to show for it.

They’d dropped three games in a row, blown good leads in the last two, and another group might have been in danger of throwing up their arms at the futility of it all and taking at least a night off.

But this team didn’t.

And when the Knicks made an inevitable run and carved an 18-point lead to one with just over a minute remaining, they found some inner reserve to make the right play and fight through the mental fatigue.

Andrea Bargnani made a clutch jumper in the low post to make it a three-point game and then matched a Knicks basket with two clutch free throws with 17.7 seconds left.

And after the Raptors forced Carmelo Anthony into badly missing a potential game-tying three with 13.2 seconds left, Anthony Carter sealed the game with two foul shots of his own.

“At halftime, we talked about that: they were going to make a run, we needed to keep our composure, make the easy plays,” said Casey. “We still had 18 turnovers, that’s way too many turnovers for us. Great win for us but we’ve got to learn from it and cut down on our turnovers.”

Bargnani finished with 21 points, the same as DeMar DeRozan, as the Raptors were finally rewarded with a win from a good night’s work.

“(Sunday) coach told us to stick with what we were doing,” said Bargnani. “Keep working, keep doing the same thing because it was working . . . we just had to finish the game.

“That’s what we did today, we finished the game. We played for 48 minutes and in the fourth quarter, we made really good decisions.”

Jose Calderon, with nine points and 12 assists, logged a season-high 43 minutes but calmed things down offensively late in the game when the Raptors needed it most.

Anthony led the Knicks with 35 points and Toney Douglas had 22.

The Raptors did have the benefit of catching a Knicks team with a barren bench and a distinct lack of offensive firepower.

Amar’e Stoudemire missed the game with a bad ankle, a knee injury has rookie Iman Shumpert on the inactive list, and Baron Davis is still weeks away from being able to even practise.

Stoudemire, who hurt the ankle on Thursday against the Lakers, said before the game that he could be back Wednesday night against the Charlotte Bobcats, but that there were no guarantees.

That means extended minutes for the likes of rookie Josh Harrellson, who was a nonfactor, and a thin bench that puts all kinds of pressure on the starters to play long minutes.

Comment Below!.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Despite two losses in two days on the West Coast, Knicks fans do have a little something to cheer about here at home – if they’ve got a sweet tooth.

Magnolia Bakery is celebrating the return of the NBA with New York Knicks-themed cupcakes.

The sweets first became available at select locations on Christmas Day to coincide with the Knicks’ 106-104 victory over the Celtics.

Photos: Knicks Defeat Celtics In Christmas Day Thriller

“This is the first year that we’ve introduced Knicks cupcakes,” a representative from the bakery told CBSNewYork. “So far, the fans really seem to enjoy them.”

Related: The 5 Best Bars To Watch A Knicks Game

The cupcakes ($3.25 each) will only be available in the bakery for home games.

But if you’re looking to cater your gamewatch with something other than beer and pretzels, fans can pre-order the treats throughout the season at any time.

The store is also offering Bulls and Lakers cupcakes at our respective Chicago and L.A. locations.

That’s all for today.

San Jose Mercury News staff and wire report

Thanks for reading! .

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks have claimed guard Jeremy Lin off waivers.

The Knicks are short-handed in the backcourt. Iman Shumpert could miss four weeks with a knee injury, Baron Davis might still be weeks away because of his bulging back disc and Mike Bibby missed the opener with a sore lower back.

Gotta run!.

CBSSports.com wire reports
Dec. 25, 2011

NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks know it will never be easy against the Celtics.

Not beating them in one game, and certainly not beating them for a division title.

But pulling out the kind of nail biter that’s long gone Boston’s way in this rivalry only reinforced the Knicks’ belief that they can do it — and even the Celtics see a difference.

Anthony scored 37 points, including a pair of free throws with the game tied and 16 seconds left, and New York survived a seesaw season opener Sunday to edge the Celtics 106-104.

“Most importantly for us, as a new team, we showed something,” Anthony said. “We came together as a team. Even when we got down, there wasn’t no frowns. Nobody was down. Mentally everybody was still up about it, and we willed our way to this win.”

Amar’e Stoudemire added 21 points and Toney Douglas had 19 for the Knicks, who led by 17 in the first half, trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter, then pulled out a thrilling Christmas victory in the delayed opener to the 2011-12 season.

Rajon Rondo had 31 points and 13 assists, nearly leading the Celtics back without an injured Paul Pierce. But Kevin Garnett missed a jumper just before the buzzer, the kind of shot Boston always seems to make against the Knicks.

“They seem to have a little swag and confidence behind them,” Garnett said. “It’s good for the city. It’s good for the Knicks. I’m going to see how consistent they are with that, but for the most part Carmelo played really well.”

Brandon Bass had 20 points and 11 rebounds in his Celtics debut, and Ray Allen added 20 points.

Garnett finished with 15 points. He and Allen had a sleepy Christmas start, with Rondo keeping the Celtics in the game until they got going in the second half.

“I thought we were as soft as you could be in the first quarter and then I thought we joined in to the 2011-12 season, and from that point on I was pretty happy with the way we played,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “I thought we competed well.”

But it wasn’t enough against the Knicks, who withstood a costly knee injury to first-round pick Iman Shumpert to beat the team that swept them out of the first round of last season’s playoffs. Shumpert will miss two to four weeks with a sprained right knee ligament.

Pierce has a bruised right heel but hopes he can return Tuesday when the Celtics visit the Miami Heat.

Even without him, the Celtics fought back to tie it at 69 on Rondo’s layup midway through the third quarter. They surged ahead by eight going into the final period after Bass scored the final six points, then extended it to 89-79 on Bass’ jumper to open the fourth.

Anthony, who scored 20 in the fourth, tied the game at 100 on a 3-pointer with 3:25 to play. It stayed tight until he was fouled on a drive with 16.3 seconds left, making both for a 106-104 lead. Rondo grabbed the rebound of Marquis Daniels’ potential go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Celtics a final chance, but Garnett was off on his jumper, then appeared to shove the Knicks’ Bill Walker away.

Coming off their first winning season in a decade, the Knicks added a defensive presence by signing Tyson Chandler away from the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks and have loftier expectations than they’ve seen in years. The original NBA schedule had them opening against Miami, but instead they got a chance to see if they’ve closed the gap against Boston.

“I think we wanted to come out and set the tone early,” Stoudemire said. “It’s a long year but this game was very important for us to get off to a great start.”

Though the Celtics won all eight meetings last season, the Knicks have been listed some places as the favorites in the Atlantic Division, which the Celtics have ruled since their Big Three came together in 2007.

“Everybody knows how optimism kicks in before the season starts, but then once reality sets in after the first month of the season, we’ll see,” Pierce said before the game. “But it’s definitely a possibility. I mean, they have the talent, but we have the talent too.”

But the Knicks will be without newcomer Baron Davis for a few weeks because of a herniated disc in his back, and now Shumpert is out, leaving little depth in the backcourt.

The Knicks led 49-32 with 7½ minutes left in the first half before the Celtics cut it to 62-52 at halftime.

The first game since renovations began at Madison Square Garden included the usual cast of celebrities such as Alicia Keys, Chris Rock and John McEnroe, and some new confusion, as at least one Celtics player had to ask how to get to the court from the new visitors’ locker room.

Notes

• Rivers said Pierce may come off the bench when he does return, since he’s had only one practice so far.
• The Knicks were without Mike Bibby, who dressed but didn’t play because of a sore back. Reserve Jared Jeffries was lost during the game to a sore right calf.
• Stoudemire provided pregame breakfast to MSG staff in appreciation of the support in his first season with the team.

That’s all for today.

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks have assembled one of the most talented frontcourts in the league and are working on improving their backcourt.

Free-agent point guard Baron Davis will sign a one-year contract Monday with the Knicks for $2.5 million, according to multiple media reports.

Davis, 32, will be sidelined for at least a month because of a problem with his back, but the Knicks felt comfortable in taking a chance on the two-time All-Star.

“I would love to have him,” Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony said Sunday. “Everybody knows what he can do when he’s healthy and when he’s focused. When (Davis) is healthy, he’s one of the best.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers waived Davis last week through the amnesty provision. He has career averages of 16.5 points and 7.3 assists per game.

“There were times he was the best point guard in the league,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I think a lot of it just depends on if he wants to be here and if he’s able to do it. If those things are positives, then he can turn into being a good thing for us.”

New York has Toney Douglas, 25, and Mike Bibby, 33, at point guard.

Miami runs away

from Orlando

MIAMI — LeBron James scored 19 points and the Miami Heat cruised to a 118-85 victory over the Orlando Magic in the exhibition opener for both teams.

The Heat outscored the Magic by 29 points over the game’s final 27 minutes.

“When you have a team outscore you 22-0 on fast-break points, they’re clearly playing at a pace and an energy level higher than what you are,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “And we could not keep up.”

Ryan Anderson and J.J. Redick each scored 22 points for the Magic, which lost for the first time in 22 exhibition games dating to October 2008.

The subject of trade talk throughout training camp, Orlando center Dwight Howard finished with five points on 2-for-9 shooting.

Afterward, Howard said his status is not a distraction for the Magic.

“We were off for seven months,” he said. “And guys are trying to get back into it. There’s no need for us, anybody, Magic fans, whatever, to stress about the first game.”

Van Gundy dismissed a theory Howard was disinterested.

“Here’s where we are: If he has a bad game, he’s disengaged?” Van Gundy said. “That’s BS.”

Notes

• The Indiana Pacers will trade guard Brandon Rush to Golden State for forward Louis Amundson. Mark Bartelstein, the agent for both players, confirmed the deal.

• Ex-Sonic Kevin Durant scored 21 points to lead the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder to a 106-92 victory over the defending champion Dallas Mavericks in the exhibition opener for both teams.

Lamar Odom, acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade Dec. 11, had 14 points and seven rebounds in his debut for Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd, leaders in the Mavericks’ title run, were in uniform and are healthy but were rested by coach Rick Carlisle.

• Greg Stiemsma‘s tip-in with 12 seconds left gave the Boston Celtics a 76-75 exhibition victory over host Toronto.

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NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

When:           Tuesday, December 13, 3 pm ET

Who:             New York Knicks Rookie Iman Shumpert

Where:          www.facebook.com/NYKnicks

What:            Shumpert will chat live for 30 minutes with fans, taking questions and talking one-on-one in front of a live online audience

Details:
With the 2011-12 season about to begin, the New York Knicks are using Silicon Valley technology company TokBox to host an open video chat on the Knicks’ Facebook page. Knicks guard Shumpert will talk live for 30 minutes and speak directly with fans about his excitement for the upcoming season and answer any questions the audience members pose.

TokBox is a San Francisco-based technology company that enables anyone to add live face-to-face experiences to any web property for audiences from one to many thousands.

SOURCE TokBox

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BY BRIAN A. GIUFFRA

What do you guys think about this.

Updated Aug 29, 2011 2:43 PM ET

NEW YORK (AP)

The New York Knicks hired former Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson on Monday as an assistant to Mike D’Antoni.

Though frequently considered a defensive specialist, Woodson made clear during a conference call that he can help D’Antoni in many roles.

”I’m just a coach that’s looking for an opportunity. I have experience and I’m just excited about the opportunity,” Woodson said. ”That’s all a coach in this league can ask for.”

Woodson led the Hawks to three playoff berths in his six seasons in Atlanta, but was let go after they were swept in embarrassing fashion by Orlando in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals.

He interviewed for the Detroit job that instead went to Lawrence Frank and also was a candidate in Houston, but now will try to help D’Antoni address the Knicks’ struggles on the defensive end.

Yet D’Antoni also tried to downplay the notion of a ”defensive specialist.”

”I don’t know where that came from, other than people writing about it,” he said. ”But he’s a good coach.”

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NEW YORK (AP)—The U.S. Tennis Association has canceled Saturday’s Arthur
Ashe Kids’ Day at the site of the U.S. Open because of worries about approaching
Hurricane Irene.

NBA star Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks and actor Bradley Cooper
were among the scheduled participants, along with top-ranked tennis player Novak
Djokovic and defending U.S. Open champion Rafael Nadal.

The USTA says Friday that it decided to call off the annual tennis-and-music
event in Arthur Ashe Stadium after discussions with New York City officials.

The USTA says it wants “to avoid any possible safety issues for our fans
and patrons.”

The U.S. Open is scheduled to start Monday.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

NEW YORK — Donnie Walsh dedicated three years to fixing the New York Knicks, all the while knowing the job would take much longer.

At first he wanted to stay on as the guy who finished it, to see them really contend for a title. But at age 70, Walsh realized he wasn’t up for the task. So when Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan wanted Walsh to commit to a multiyear extension, the longtime executive decided it was best not to return as Knicks president.

“I just to myself thought, ‘I don’t know that I’m going to be up to that, I don’t think that I can commit to that,’ because I’m getting older and I do this job only one way and that is full forward ahead,” Walsh said Friday on a conference call. “It’s 24-7 with me and I think that’s what it takes, to be honest.”

The Knicks announced in a statement that Walsh and Dolan mutually agreed that Walsh will not return when his contract expires at the end of June, a somewhat surprising departure and major loss for a team coming off its best season in a decade.

“The more I got into it, the more I realized the commitment is going to be at my age probably too much more than I want it to be and I don’t think I can do that, and that’s where I came from,” Walsh said.

So he leaves the Knicks with a playoff team again, one with two All-Stars under contract, but still far from a championship level.

“I’m not bailing,” Walsh said. “I wanted to see if I could get it closer to contending before I left, but I just don’t think I can commit the amount that I would have to commit here and I understand the franchise needs a commitment for more than one year.”

His departure opens questions about whether coach Mike D’Antoni will return for the final year of his deal, though Walsh indicated D’Antoni would stay.

“I know that he is the guy that can take this team to the next level,” Walsh said. “Mike wants to see the job through.”

Walsh apparently would have been back had he been willing to agree to stay for at least a couple of seasons, especially since the next one is in jeopardy because of the NBA’s labor situation. But he has battled health problems and was separated from most of his family, who remained in Indiana when he came to New York.

“I do miss my wife and my family, and this is a 24-7 situation, as a lot of GM situations are. This is even more intense,” Walsh said. “I’m running out of energy.”

Walsh spent three seasons in New York, leading a massive rebuilding effort that got the Knicks back into the playoffs this season following the acquisitions of Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.

But Dolan didn’t pick up his option for next season, and the two couldn’t agree on terms of an extension.

McHale takes reins

AP

HOUSTON — Kevin McHale missed the intensity of NBA competition and the Houston Rockets offered an ideal opportunity for him to plunge back in.

Houston officially introduced the 53-year-old McHale as its new coach on Friday to replace Rick Adelman, who parted ways with the team after four seasons.

McHale has been working as a television analyst and hasn’t coached since finishing the 2008-09 season in Minnesota. But he missed the camaraderie of the locker room and never lost his desire to return to the sidelines.

“There’s nothing like being in the fight,” McHale said. “There’s something about being in the game that’s really fun, and I really enjoyed that.”

McHale’s salary was not disclosed, but he has signed a three-year contract with a team option for a fourth year. He said he’s spoken to most of the current Rockets and is just starting the process of evaluating and contacting potential assistants.

A seven-time All-Star, McHale helped Boston win three NBA championships during a 13-year playing career. Ex-Celtic players Danny Ainge (Boston) and Larry Bird (Indiana) are now NBA executives, and McHale is eager to lead his new team against them and other former teammates working as coaches.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

NEW YORK — Donnie Walsh’s tenure as president and general manager of the New York Knicks is ending, team owner James Dolan said Friday.

“Following a long series of discussions regarding his future role with the New York Knicks, Donnie Walsh and I have mutually agreed that he will be leaving his position … at the end of June,” Dolan said in a statement.

Walsh will work in a consultant’s capacity for the team next season.

The stunning piece of news comes four weeks before Walsh’s contract is due to expire, and after several weeks of face-to-face discussions between Walsh and Dolan. The team had imposed a news blackout around the discussions, and neither Walsh nor his agent had commented on his job status since the first round of the playoffs.

Walsh’s departure opens questions about whether coach Mike D’Antoni will return for the final year of his contract.

The Knicks had an April 30 deadline to pick up the fourth-year option on Walsh’s contract, which he signed in 2008 following the troubled tenure of former team president and coach Isiah Thomas. But that date passed with no action being taken, and Walsh and Dolan were discussing a new contract that would keep him with the team at least through the 2012-13 season. Walsh’s desire to have full autonomy was reportedly one of the sticking points.

Thomas has continued to keep in contact with Dolan and was believed by many — including Walsh, a team source said — to be influencing the team’s personnel decisions.

Walsh gutted the roster over his first two seasons to clear enough salary cap space to sign two maximum-salary free agents. LeBron James was No. 1 on the Knicks’ wish list, but they settled for Amare Stoudemire last July and then got their second max player by acquiring Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets two days before the NBA trade deadline in mid-February.

But the Knicks gave up a lot in the trade — Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Galinari, Anthony Randolph, Timofey Mozgov, several draft picks, cash and Eddy Curry’s expiring contract — and there was a school of thought (denied by the Knicks) that Dolan had taken over the negotiations and had undermined Walsh.

The Knicks were swept 4-0 by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

“In a relatively short time with the Knicks, Donnie made a tremendous impact, which will be felt for many years to come,” Dolan said. “We thank Donnie for his leadership, hard work and many contributions to the revitalization of the team.”

The Knicks said their search for a new president and general manager will begin immediately. Glen Grunwald, the club’s senior vice president of basketball operations, will serve as interim GM beginning in July and will oversee all player transactions.

The highly respected Walsh came to his hometown team after spending 24 years with the Indiana Pacers. He joined their front office as general manager in 1986, became team president in 1988 and CEO in 2003, turning the franchise into a perennial Eastern Conference contender that reached the NBA finals in 2000.

He brought professionalism to a Knicks organization that had become an embarrassment on and off the court during Thomas’ reign, unloading some of the burdensome contracts that hindered them for years and relaxing the team’s media policies.

His draft record in New York was underwhelming — high lottery picks Gallinari and Jordan Hill are already gone — but Walsh always said his focus was free agency, believing that was the quickest way to rebuild a team.

He refused throughout the season to talk about his future, including reports he was angered that Dolan got involved in the pursuit of Anthony. But his wife and much of his family had remained in Indiana after Walsh came to New York, so he had reason to leave if he wasn’t happy with a new contract offer.

Walsh is scheduled to give a statement at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Follow Chris Sheridan on Twitter: @csheridanespn

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