7 in the fourth quarter. The Heat trimmed the

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PHOENIX -- The San Antonio Spurs were worn out at the end of a nine-game road trip, and they prefer a slower pace even in the best of times. So their winter journey ended in Phoenix, against the NBAs top fast-break team with arguably the leagues fastest player in Ish Smith. The result was a 106-85 Suns victory. Smith scored a career-high 15 points, matched his career best of seven rebounds and triggered a decisive second-quarter run. "Im like Ricky Bobby (from the Will Ferrell ................... "Talladega Nights"), I want to go fast," Smith said. "The biggest thing with us is we want to play that pace. We want to constantly push the ball, push the ball. Thats what makes us really good." Markieff Morris scored 21 points and Channing Frye 17 for Phoenix. Gerald Green and Marcus Morris added 13 apiece. Danny Green had 15 points and Tim Duncan 13 for the Spurs, who finished a nine-game road trip, the teams annual sojourn while a rodeo is held back home. The Spurs went 6-3 on the swing. The Suns, 3-0 since the All-Star break, snapped San Antonios three-game winning streak and climbed to a season-high 12 games above .500. "You never know how you are going to get a team," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "They have been on the road for a long time, they were probably itching to get back home. They had an off night and we had a decent night. We will take it." The Spurs NBA-best road record dropped to 22-8. "They made shots, we didnt, and we turned it over," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "It wasnt bad. Our ninth road game in a row, they played hard and we couldnt stick it in the ...................... It happens. It was a great trip. Six and three on that trip under the circumstances of all the guys out and back and forth, I thought they were great." The Suns outscored San Antonio 28-12 in the second quarter to lead 47-35 at the break, the Spurs lowest scoring half of the season With a lineup of mostly bench players, the Suns scored 19 points in a row in what eventually became a 26-3 second-quarter run. San Antonio got the first basket of the quarter, then didnt score again until Duncans three-point play with 5:11 to play in the period. Frye responded with a 3-pointer, then Smith scored twice inside, the second on a nifty underhanded layup in traffic, and Phoenix had its biggest lead of the half, 45-28, with 3:06 to play. Smith, getting added court time because Leandro Barbosa was out with a sprained left big toe, was 5-for-5 shooting in the second quarter for 10 points with five rebounds, two assists and a steal. "(Russell) Westbrook is fast, but hes not like dash fast, first step," teammate Goran Dragic said. "Ish is special. Its harder because hes so small and when he goes low, its even harder to stay in front of him." Smith almost singlehandedly speeded up the game. "The game was kind of their pace," Hornacek said. "I think we were down 21-17 when he came in and he got the tempo going, really pushed the ball, got our guys in that running mode." San Antonios 12-point second quarter matched its lowest-scoring quarter of the season. The Suns outscored the Spurs 17-7 to open the second half, taking a 64-42 lead on Fryes 3-pointer with 5:39 left in the period. About that time, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich sat Duncan and Manu Ginobili for the night. Ginobili, a game-time decision because of a sore hamstring, played 13 minutes. For the Spurs, Patty Mills was 2 of 14 from the field and Marco Belinelli 1 for 8. San Antonio was 2 of 21 from 3-point range. The 21-point loss was the second-worst of the season for San Antonio. The Spurs lost by 23 at the Los Angeles Clippers Dec. 16. NOTES: Phoenix snapped a five-game losing streak against the Spurs. ... Tony Parker missed his fourth game in a row for what Popovich labeled an assortment of ailments. ... Popovich drew a technical seven minutes into the game and the Suns P.J. Tucker got one in the second quarter. ... The Spurs have five days off before playing their first home game since Feb. 1, against Detroit next Wednesday. Custom Wales Soccer Jersey . On Tuesday, the star questioned whether that was still the case. Speaking to reporters at a charity event, Johnson said: "I just kind of wonder sometimes: Is this still the place for me?" Johnsons comments came after he was asked why he recently skipped a voluntary minicamp. Gareth Bale Wales Jersey . Its not intended to be some magical formula and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. This remedial statistical method has gone 9-5 in picks through the first three rounds. http://www.soccerwalesshop.com/ashley-w ... RO-jersey/. In his first game with Boston University, the 17-year-old Eichel picked up five assists as his Boston University Terriers thumped St. Joe Ledley Jersey .com) - Even on the day his New Hampshire football team became the nations top-ranked team two weeks ago, coach Sean McDonnell conceded something about the team they replaced at No. Joe Ledley Wales Jersey . This time, it was Eric Chavezs turn. Stuck in a rut since coming off the disabled list, Chavez hit the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning for a run-scoring single, sending the Diamondbacks to another walk-off victory, 4-3 over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.Its a double dose of Thursday night hoops as the battle of New York continues, and the defending champs head to the windy city to renew a rivalry. Watch the Knicks at Nets (TSN2) Tonight at 7pm et/4pm pt and Heat at Bulls (TSN2) Tonight at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt Thursdays showdown between the Knicks and Nets at Barclays Center was an anticipated matchup when the schedule came out and now seems like an ordinary game. The Knicks have lost nine a row and are just 3-13, while Brooklyn has dropped eight of 10 games for a 5-13 record. Both the Knicks and Nets are battling to stay out of the basement in the Atlantic Division. Actually, the Knicks are three games off the division lead and Brooklyn sits two back. "I just want to win, man," Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said. "I dont care about me having a big night. I want to win. I think that should be the mindset for everybody. Is it an important game for us? Yeah. Lets be quite frank about that. We are playing Brooklyn in their arena, one of our rivals, and we want to win." Anthony then said he wants to have a big game and that the team as a whole should have the same mentality. Anthony, the NBAs reigning leading scorer, is second in the league with 26.3 points per game and will see a familiar face on the opposing side in Nets head coach Jason Kidd. Kidd and Anthony were teammates last season in New York. "We have to get used to it," Anthony said of seeing Kidd. "Im still getting used to it because just a couple of months ago he had a uniform on with us. To see him in a suit now coaching ... trying to get used to that." A reporter told Anthony that Kidd was asked about Thursdays battle between the Knicks and Nets and responded, "we both stink right now." "We do. He wasnt lying about that. I mean we do," Anthony said with a smile. "For us we have to figure it out and try to turn it around ASAP. We have to play with some more energy, some more effort." Anthony, who has led the Knicks in scoring in all 16 games, also said, "we are the laughing stock of the league right now." New York suffered its ninth straight loss in Sundays 103-99 decision versus the New Orleans Pelicans and Anthony netted 23 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 21 points off the bench and Andrea Bargnani chipped in 17 and seven rebounds for the Knicks, who are on the longest losing streak since dropping 10 in a row from Jan. 28 - Feb. 13, 2006. "Until we are able to take pride in guarding the ball, there are going to be nights like this," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We needed some stops and we couldnt get them." J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton scored 12 points apiece for the Knicks, who havent won since Nov. 13 at Atlanta. Smith is probable Thursday because of a sore left knee and is averaging 11.7 points per game. The Knicks hope to stop a five-game road losing streak and are just 2-6 away from Madison Square Garden this season. Brooklyn is coming off Tuesdays 111-87 loss to the Denver Nuggets and is still without guards Deron Williams (ankle) and Jason Terry (knee), and forwards Paul Pierce (hand) and Andrei Kirilenko (back). Through 18 games this season, the Nets have lost a total of 41 games due to injury. Joe Johnson and Andray Blatche scored 22 and 15 points, respectively, for the Nets, while Brook Lopez and Tyshawn Taylor each finished with 12. "We sometimes cant put the ball in the basket and we stop playing on the other end," Kidd said after Brooklyns fifth straight loss at home. The Nets are 2-5 at Barclays Center this season. Johnson has scored 20 or more points in four of his last six games, averaging 21.0 ppg in that time, andd is four assists shy of 4,000 in his career.dddddddddddd. Kidd, meanwhile, made some news when he reassigned assistant coach Lawrence Frank to a lesser role. Kidd cited "different philosophies" for the switch. Brooklyn and New York will play the first of four matchups this season and split four games in 2012-13. The Knicks are 11-5 in the last 16 meetings with the Nets and have won four of five as the guest in this series. Anthony averaged 35.0 ppg in four games against Brooklyn last season. Williams, who is doubtful for Thursday, posted an average of 16.0 points and 11.5 assists in last seasons series (4 games). --- The Miami Heat will exit the comfy confines of home when they embark on a four-game road trip, starting with Thursdays matchup against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. Miami had its season-high 10-game winning streak come to an end with Tuesdays 107-97 loss to the Detroit Pistons and played without guard Dwyane Wade because of sore knees. LeBron James once again led the Heat with 23 points to go along with six assists and five rebounds. James has scored in double figures in 513 consecutive games. Moses Malone is next on the list at 526 games from Oct. 4, 1978 - March 4, 1985. Michael Beasley added 23 points off the bench and Chris Bosh registered 14 for the Heat, who were down 28-18 after the first quarter and trailed by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter. The Heat trimmed the Pistons lead to 91-88, but would get no closer the rest of the way. Detroit scored 29 points off 19 Miami turnovers and held the Heat to 43.9 percent shooting. The Heat will try to extend their road winning streak to six games Thursday and are 5-2 as the guest. Miami will also make stops in Minnesota, Detroit and Indiana. Meanwhile, Wade is probable against the Bulls and is averaging 18.5 points, 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds this season. Wade has scored 20-plus points in four of his previous five games. Chicago opened its four-game homestand with Mondays 131-128 triple-overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans after going 1-5 on its previous road trip. The Bulls were outscored, 9-6, in the third extra period and suffered their first home loss of the season (5-1). Luol Deng did all he could to propel the Bulls to victory with 37 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Deng has tallied five straight games with 20 or more points, averaging 27.4 points per game in that stretch. Taj Gibson posted a career-best 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Mike Dunleavy netted 23 points. Chicago was coming off a late loss at Cleveland and is just 1-6 in the past seven games overall. "We are just one play away the last two games, but the games are there for us," Gibson told NBA.com. Joakim Noah ended with 19 points and 10 rebounds versus the Pelicans and Kirk Hinrich chipped in 13 points, 11 assists and six rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Hinrich, of course, is seeing more action with star guard Derrick Rose expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing another knee surgery. Rose is scheduled to address the media for the first time since his season- ending surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee after Thursdays shootaround. The Bulls, who are allowing just 94.6 ppg, still have Detroit and Milwaukee slated to visit the United Center, and suffered a 107-95 loss at Miami on Oct. 29. James had 17 points to lead seven players in double figures and Carlos Boozer scored a game-high 31 points to pace the Bulls, who have dropped four of six games against Miami. Miami has lost 10 of 13 trips to the Windy City. The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets had high expectations for this season, but so far both squads have disappointed. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '