NEW YORK -- New Yorks once faint, nearly unrealistic playoff hopes have become a real possibility. The Knicks intend to seize the opportunity and run with it. "We know what we want," Carmelo Anthony said. J.R. Smith had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Anthony added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Knicks beat the city rival Brooklyn Nets 110-81 Wednesday night to move percentage points ahead of Atlanta for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Knicks were 21-40 on March 3 after a seven-game skid and are still just 33-43. But they know that record gets wiped away if they can finish off this turnaround. "We want to get there. Thats the goal," Anthony said. "Despite this emotional season, this up-and-down season, I think it would be a big deal to get in that spot." Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points a game after spraining his right ankle to help the Knicks win for the 12th time in 15 games, dominating a team that had the best record in the Eastern Conference since the new year. New York won its third straight. The Knicks made 24 of 36 shots in taking a 63-38 halftime lead in front of new president Phil Jackson, who wouldnt have much to fix if they looked like this more often. They finished at a season-high 60 per cent and outrebounded Brooklyn 41-23. "Our guys are hungry," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "Normally anybody that comes off the West Coast, when youve been out there for a while, that game coming back is normally a tough game, but our guys came out with energy and came out ready to play." Joe Johnson scored 16 points for the Nets, who had won three straight. A night after clinching a playoff berth by beating Houston, they were out of the game by the opening minutes of the second quarter. "It was very frustrating the way we got blown out," Johnson said. "For whatever reason, we had a few guys fighting and a few guys who wasnt fighting. If were not all on the same page, you get a lopsided score like that." In a game that both clubs need for different reasons, the Knicks were the more desperate team, taking a 2-1 lead in the season series. None of the games has been close, but both have bigger concerns than city bragging rights, anyway. The Knicks have almost no margin for error in a final seven-game stretch against playoff-bound opponents. They had no problem with the first one and will face the Nets one more time on April 15 on the second-to-last night of the season. Brooklyn is hoping for home-court advantage in the first round, but fell 2 1/2 games behind Toronto and Chicago for a spot. The Nets led 20-19 late in the first quarter, but Anthony had two baskets, Smith made a 3-pointer and found Hardaway for another at the buzzer as the Knicks scored the final 10 points for a 29-20 lead. Hardaway made another 3 to open the second and Iman Shumpert scored to make it a 15-0 run and give the Knicks a 34-20 advantage. Anthony had the first six points of an 8-0 burst that pushed it to 58-34 with 1:36 remaining in the half, and it was 63-38 at the break. The Nets were angry with the officiating, with Johnson picking up a technical foul at halftime and coach Jason Kidds assistants stepped in front of him as he tried to yell toward the refs. Brooklyn got within 14 with 2 minutes left in the third, but the Knicks, unveiling a small lineup that had Anthony as its centre, stretched their lead to 82-61 heading to the fourth. "They were the better team tonight," Kidd said. "Lose by one, lose by 100, its just a loss. We move on." Knicks guard Raymond Felton went the locker room early in the third quarter with bruised ribs and back after a hard landing while trying to grab an offensive rebound, but was able to return early in the fourth. NOTES: The Nets had won two in a row at Madison Square Garden. ... On World Autism Awareness Day, the Knicks honoured Tarrytown, N.Y., educator Virginia Campbell with this months Sweetwater Clifton "City Spirit" Award for her more than 18 years teaching and helping more than 100 autistic children. The award is named for Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, the first African-American to play for the Knicks. ... Referee Dick Bavetta was honoured before working his 2,633rd consecutive game assignment, an ironman streak even longer than the one compiled by baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. Custom Minnesota Twins Jerseys . The Maple Leafs handed their embattled head coach a two-year contract extension on Thursday, while at the same time announcing that assistants Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon will not be back. Custom Milwaukee Brewers Jerseys . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. http://www.customjerseysbaseball.com/. Sociedad remained in sixth place with Villarreal a point behind in seventh, both in Europa League spots and in striking distance of fourth place and the final Champions League berth. Sociedad forward Carlos Vela chipped goalkeeper Jaime Jimenez after receiving an equally exquisite lobbed pass from Ruben Pardo to set him up in the 23rd minute at Anoeta Stadium. Custom Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys . Here at TSN.ca we will take a look back at the season by bringing together a panel of experts to help pick the best 50 players of the season. Custom Houston Astros Jerseys . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp.Jon Jones went from pound-for-pound the best fighter inside the octagon to just plain pounded. Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. Looking as human and humbled as ever, Jones wouldnt let his hard-earned championship slip away easily and gutted out another title defence -- a UFC record sixth straight -- that set up him up to find another challenger of the month. Enter Glover Teixeira. Teixeira boasts a whopping 20-bout winning streak that dates nine years and is coming off a first-round TKO of Ryan Bader. Jones (19-1) and Teixeira (22-2) fight in the main event of UFC 172 Saturday night when the promotion makes its debut in Baltimore. Phil Davis fights Anthony Johnson in the other headline bout. Jones, one of UFCs biggest active pay-per-view draws, won a unanimous decision against Gustafsson at UFC 165 in September. Gustafsson cut the champion at the right eye midway through the first round. And with a minute left, he took Jones down for the first time in the champions UFC career. Jones said he knew he was as close as ever to dropping the belt. "I realized I needed to switch up my strategy and begin improvising a little bit more, and thats what I did," he said. "I think with Gus I was trying to fight like a technical kick boxing match and I think I was losing at that. I just had to switch my style up and start flowing a little better and start winging things, making up, creating, and finding new openings." He found enough of them to escape and put his name in the record book. With the win, Jones passed UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortizs light heavyweight mark of five straight successful title defences. After beating Shogun Rua on March 20, 2011 to win the belt, Jones went on to defeat Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen and Gustafsson.dddddddddddd. He beat all but Evans and Gustafsson during the streak via TKO or submission, and three times earned UFC fight of the night honours. Known as "Bones," Jones said its time to return to his dominant form to keep the streak going. "Im totally prepared to fight for five rounds, but my goal in this fight is to dominate the fight in a way that no one seen possible," he said. Domination is in my psychology. Its the way I train. Its the way I eat. Its the way I visualize. Its the way I believe. "If I dont dominate the fight, Ill still be happy with the victory. But domination is what Im planning on." Teixeira, the No. 2 title contender, is 5-0 since jumping to UFC but a 5-1 underdog in the fight of his life. "My strategy against Jon Jones is simple, go out there and be myself and knock this guy out," he said. "Ive been training my whole life for this." Jones, a former college wrestler and the brother of two NFL players, nearly suffered a broken arm in his win over Belfort and broke a toe against Sonnen. Winning while hurt, then turning around the Gustafsson bout in the final two rounds, proved to Jones he can win under any circumstances. "After that Gustafsson fight, Im even more confident in my will," he said. "I know I have a lot of will. I know that Im armed with that going into this battle on Saturday night. Jones has two brothers in the NFL, including Arthur, a Super Bowl champion with the Ravens who now plays for the Colts. Arthur Jones will be at Baltimore Arena with some of his former teammates rooting on his brother for the feel of a hometown advantage. "They supported our family while he was here and thats why I wanted to fight here," Jon Jones said. "I hope his leaving doesnt change anything because I still love the fans and the support they have given to me and our family." 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