DALLAS -- Carmelo Anthony gave the Knicks an early lead and his New York teammates made it stand up. J. T. Gray Jersey . Anthony scored 15 of his 19 points in the first quarter to lead five Knicks -- three of them reserves -- in double figures and New York held off a late rally to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 92-80 Sunday night. New York led by as many as 19 points and held on when the Mavericks got within six in the last minute and a half to finish 2-1 on a four-day trip through Texas. "Its been a successful trip," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We lose a two-point game in Houston in which we had an opportunity to win. We played great in San Antonio. And to come in here and beat Dallas, whos playing well at home and playing well this season, it should be a boost for our team." Kenyon Martin scored a season-high 14 points, starter Andrea Bargnani had in 13, Amare Stoudemire added 11 and Tim Hardaway scored eight of his 10 in the fourth quarter. In addition, Beno Udrih had eight assists, Iman Shumpert scored seven points in the last 2 minutes and J.R. Smith had seven points and seven rebounds. "I thought our bench was fantastic, and we are going to need our bench to play like they played tonight," Woodson said. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle agreed. "Everybody on their team played well. Name a guy that didnt." Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who lost their fourth consecutive home game. Their previous low score had been 87 points twice this season. The Knicks had allowed a season-low 78 in a victory at Chicago on Dec. 11. Anthony scored six points during a 12-0 run in the first that gave the Knicks a 24-13 lead. He also led New York with four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the quarter. He finished with seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and a blocked shot. After that, Dallas Shawn Marion picked up his man-to-man defence on Anthony. He didnt score in the second quarter, but the Knicks still outscored the Mavericks 23-18 for a 52-35 halftime lead. Bargnani had seven points in the second. "I sprained my (right) ankle on the second play of the game," Marion said, "and I hurt my Achilles a little bit. "I decided I had to make it hard for (Anthony). I was able to help the team after that." In the third quarter, Martin scored six points in a 1:13 span that gave New York a 58-39 lead. He returned after missing Fridays game at Houston because of a sore left ankle. "It was a little tender," Martin said, "but I knew Tyson (Chandler) was under the weather. At that point, it was mind over matter." Martin filled in after starting centre Chandler left because of illness, and had 10 of the Knicks 15 points in the quarter. "I didnt even know if Kenyon was going to play tonight," Woodson said. "We needed all of Kenyon tonight to carry this win." The Mavericks had shot 36 per cent (13 for 36) from the field in the first half and were 0 for 8 on 3-pointers. Dallas missed 8 of 17 free throws, including four by Nowitzki. He was 3 for 7 from the field and 5 for 9 from the foul line to finish with 11 points and seven rebounds in the half. The 35 points were the Mavericks fewest in the first half this season. The Hawks held them to 34 in the second half of an 88-87 loss at Atlanta Nov. 29. The Mavericks rallied from the 19-point deficit at 58-39 with an 18-7 run that reduced New Yorks lead to eight. That run followed a blistering timeout message from Carlisle. "We didnt play well defensively. We made a very poor showing in the first half. I didnt have them ready. I will take the blame," Carlisle said. The third quarter ended 67-57. Dallas pulled within six at 84-78 with 1:33 to play on Monta Ellis jump shot. Shumpert came back with a 3-pointer. "Melo found me when I was open," Shumpert said. "I think they just forgot about me, left me over there. When youre wide open, you just got to knock it down." It was Shumperts only successful 3-pointer in three attempts against Dallas, but he was 13 for 17 (76 per cent) in the three Texas games. For Dallas, Ellis and Vince Carter scored 13 points, Jose Calderon had 12 and DeJuan Blair added 11. "They got hot early, and we didnt really start till late," Mavericks rookie guard Shane Larkin said. "Late in the game, we didnt really have any legs." NOTES: Chandler left because of an upper respiratory illness after playing the first 4:25. . Metta World Peace was not with the Knicks for the fourth consecutive game. He has said he would undergo platelet-rich plasma therapy Monday in New York. New York coach Mike Woodson said, "Well know more when we get back." . This was just the fourth time the Knicks have won as many as two games in 14 three-game trips to Texas. . Carter played in his 1,100th NBA game. . Nowitzki had one steal, leaving him one short of 1,000 for his career. . Center Samuel Dalembert was benched for one game because he was late for practice Saturday. He said he hasnt been able to sleep at night, and "Im taking steps to make sure that doesnt happen again." Mark Ingram Jr. Jersey .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. Zach Strief Jersey .C. - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says Danny Granger, Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem are still not ready to play and will miss Wednesday nights game against the Charlotte Hornets. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/custom-will-clapp-jersey-large-2092e.html . And on Sunday against the Houston Astros they were pleased to see his work finally pay off with his first win since May 24.BOSTON -- Jon Lester is proving hes Bostons ace again. Lester pitched eight dominant innings, and the AL East-leading Red Sox dealt the New York Yankees wild-card hopes another blow with a 5-1 win on Saturday. The 29-year old left-hander is 6-3 since mid-July with a 2.52 ERA in 12 starts after a rough stretch midway through the season. "What hes done since the All Star break has been consistent with how hes started the season," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "A well above-average pitcher, a front-line starter and thats what Jon Lester is." Lester (14-8) was solid from the start, mixing a sharp cutter with a well-spotted, mid-90s fastball. He allowed one run and three hits, striking out five and walking two for his fourth win in six starts. Midway through the season, he went 0-4 in six starts with a 7.20 ERA. "I knew after what I went through at the middle of the year that its just a matter of time and things will take care of itself," he said. "I think anytime you take someone thats had some success, your confidence is high. When you struggle, that kind of varies from certain starts." Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes and Shane Victorino each had two hits as the surging Red Sox won for the 16th time in 19 games, and beat the Yankees for the fifth time in six meetings in just over a week. Napoli, in his first season with the Red Sox, has seen the best of Lester from the opposite side. "I remember facing him when he had his changeup, its tough because hed throw that cutter in on your hands and a changeup strike when hes just pounding you inside all the time," he said. "Hes been doing great. You can see hes confident out there. Hes just getting the ball and throwing." The Yankees lost their second straight after a three-game winning streak and fell 2 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for the ALs second wild-card spot. The Rays play at Minnesota on Saturday night. "You have to find a way to get it done is the bottom line," New York manager Joe Girardi said of facing Lester. "Hes been throwing the ball well. He threw it well against us last time and he did it again today, but youve still got to find a way." Boston entered the day with an 8 1/2-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay. The Red Sox (91-59) improved to a season-high 32 games over .500, their best mark since the final day of their World Series championship season in 2004. Franklin Morales worked a perfect ninth. For the second time in week, Boston goes for a sweepp against New York. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Jersey. Last weekend, the Red Sox won the initial three of a four-game set at Yankee Stadium but lost the finale. The Red Sox built a 5-1 lead against CC Sabathia (13-13) after five innings. "I felt like I was behind everybody and got into some tough counts," Sabathia said. "With a team like they have, when you get behind and in a hitters count, youre going to give up some hard-hit balls." Will Middlebrooks run-scoring grounder gave Boston a 1-0 edge in the second. Napoli singled before moving up on a walk and sacrifice. In the third, David Ortiz had an RBI double and Gomes added a run-scoring single. Sabathia then fanned the next two hitters with runners on first and third. Lester breezed through the first nine batters, holding the Yankees hitless before Curtis Granderson tripled off the centre field wall leading off the fourth. He scored on Robinson Canos bouncer to first to make it 3-1. But Victorino had a two-out RBI single in the bottom half. Sabathia went six innings, allowing five runs on nine hits, walking four and striking out five. Hes 4-6 with a 6.48 ERA in his last three seasons against the Red Sox. Daniel Navas sacrifice fly increased it to it 5-1. NOTES: Yankees OF Alfonso Soriano was a late scratch with a sprained right thumb and is listed as day to day. He was scheduled to bat cleanup, so Alex Rodriguez was dropped from second to fourth and Vernon Wells moved from right field to left. Ichiro Suzuki, who was not scheduled to be in the lineup, was inserted in right and batted eighth. "It was bothering him yesterday, but it got worse today," Girardi said. ... The Yankees activated RHP David Phelps (strained right forearm) from the 60-day DL and moved Derek Jeter (sore left ankle) to the 60-day DL before the game. "Probably a one-inning guy, not much longer," Girardi said of Phelps role. "He didnt really get a chance to build up (his arm strength) to be a long guy." ... Farrell said LHP Felix Doubront will throw a side session Sunday, a simulated game Tuesday and "likely in the Toronto series (next weekend) in a starting role." Farrell also said Doubront hasnt been used due to "fatigue." ... Ivan Nova (8-4, 3.17 ERA) goes for the Yankees in the series finale against Clay Buchholz (10-0, 1.61 ERA) on Sunday night. Buchholz will be making his second start since coming off the DL. He was out since early June with a strained neck. ... Boston improved to 12-6 against New York. ' ' '