Stoudemire again rescues Knicks

With the Knicks needing to stop a slide, Amare Stoudemire took matters into his own hands, scoring 26 points, including six of New York's last seven, and the Knicks beat the visiting Indiana Pacers yesterday, 98-92.

"This was definitely huge," Stoudemire said. "This was a big game for us. Indiana is right behind us as far as the playoff race, so it was important for us to get this win. We understand how big this game was for us and in the fourth quarter, we played with a sense of urgency and we were able to get the win."

Danny Granger had 25 points and 17 rebounds, and Darren Collison had 22 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Pacers, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

"It was one of those nights where we had to grind it out," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I thought we did a good job when it was time to win the game."

The Knicks trailed 87-84 early in the fourth quarter, but Toney Douglas and Wilson Chandler each made a three-pointer to give New York a 90-87 lead. The Knicks closed out the game on a pair of layups by Stoudemire and a jumper that made it 97-92.

With almost 6 minutes left in the game, Indiana's Brandon Rush drove for a layup but lost his balance and his right shoulder collided with Danilo Gallinari's left knee. A Knicks spokesman said that Gallinari had a sprained left knee. X-rays were negative, but an MRI was scheduled for today.

In other games:

* At Toronto, Paul Pierce scored 30 points, Ray Allen had 23 and the Boston Celtics beat the Raptors, 93-79. Glenn Davis added 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as Boston won for the 10th time in 11 meetings with Toronto.

Pierce was disappointed after scoring just 12 points and making a season-high six turnovers in Friday's 83-81 loss to New Orleans. He made up for that by hitting 10 of 15 shots, seven of eight free throws and grabbing seven rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points for the Raptors, who have lost 11 of 14.

Boston point guard Rajon Rondo returned to the starting lineup after missing seven games because of a sprained left ankle. He had four points and eight assists in 34 minutes.

* At Los Angeles, Rudy Gay scored 27 points and Zach Randolph added 21 as Memphis surprised the Lakers, 104-85.

* At Cleveland, Shawn Marion scored 22 points and DeShawn Stevenson added 21, leading the Mavericks to a 104-95 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Mavericks, playing without starting forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler, used a balanced attack to break a three-game losing streak. The Cavaliers have lost seven straight and 17 of 18.

* At Los Angeles, Joe Johnson scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, Josh Smith added 22 as the Atlanta Hawks rallied to beat the Clippers, 107-98. Clippers rookie Blake Griffin scored 31 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for his 27th double-double and 21st in a row.

* At Portland, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points to lead the Trailblazers to a 100-85 victory over the Houston Rockets.

* At Sacramento, rookie DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the Kings' 94-89 win over the Phoenix Suns.