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NEW YORK -- The New York Knicks spent $72 million to make Joakim Noah the anchor of their defense.On Monday, they sat him down and turned around a game.Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis each scored 24 points, and the Knicks rolled after a halftime lineup change and beat the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 93-77.The Knicks benched Noah, their big free-agent signing, starting guard Justin Holiday and moving Porzingis to center in a small lineup. They responded by scoring 31 points in the third quarter after managing just 36 in an ugly first half.Second half was really good. Coach made the decision to play small, Noah said. I didnt get to play, everybody wants to play, but its good that we won. We found a way. It was much-needed.Anthony scored 17 in the third quarter and 20 in the second half after shooting 1 for 6 in the first half. Porzingis finished with 11 rebounds, though coach Jeff Hornacek doesnt think his move to starting center is going to be permanent.Just because it was good in the second half doesnt mean were going to change it, Hornacek said.Harrison Barnes scored 20 points and J.J. Barea had 17 for the Mavericks, who are still without Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams.The remaining lineup was good enough to take a 39-36 halftime lead but got run off the floor once the Knicks returned with a different look.This is where everybody has got to be totally together, help each other out, really focus on doing the little things at a high level, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. I thought the first half we did that. In the second half we had breakdowns.Anthony made a 3-pointer to open the half and later had six straight points in the midst of the Knicks 19-6 run that Holiday capped with a 3-pointer that made it 55-45. New York outscored Dallas 31-12 in the period as the Mavs shot 5 for 20, and it was 67-51 headed to the fourth.Porzingis and Anthony made consecutive 3-pointers that pushed it to 82-64 midway through the period and soon both were on the bench for good.Noah, a defensive-minded center who battled injuries in his final season in Chicago, grabbed six rebounds in 16 scoreless minutes. He didnt play in the second half, while Holiday finished with 16 points.TIP-INSMavericks: Dallas had won five straight and 24 of the last 29 meetings. ... Barnes had scored 25 or more in a career-best three straight games.Knicks: The Knicks snapped a two-game losing streak. ... New York won for the first time in five games this season when scoring fewer than 100 points.DIRK WORKSNowitzki had a lengthy pregame workout on the court, but by then the Mavs had already determined that he would miss his fourth straight game with a sore right Achilles.I think hes really close. Hes feeling a lot better and we just dont want to rush anything, owner Mark Cuban said. Theres no reason to rush anything with him.TAKE TIMEDallas was twice called for technical fouls in the fourth quarter for calling timeout when it had no timeouts remaining.HELPING HANDHornacek asked Carlisle if Nowitzki would work out with Porzingis in September. They couldnt get anything scheduled but both sides hope they can eventually.Dirks a giver, he would love to see every international guy have the same opportunities hes had, Carlisle said. Its something that didnt work out because I think at the time in September Dirks travel schedule and Kristaps health situation didnt match up, but maybe sometime in the future. I know that Dirk would look forward to spending time with him and vice versa.UP NEXTMavericks: Visit Boston on Wednesday to finish four-game, coast-to-coast road trip that began at the Los Angeles Lakers. Dallas has won seven straight against the Celtics.Knicks: Host Detroit on Wednesday. The Pistons beat the Knicks 102-89 earlier this season.---This story has been corrected to show that Nowitzki has missed four straight games. Ultra Boost Destockage . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Ultra Boost Pas Cher Femme . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. http://www.ultraboostpascher.fr/ . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Ultra Boost Pas Cher Homme . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Acheter Ultra Boost . LUCIE, Fla. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Inside linebacker Todd Davis says hes optimistic hell play against New England this weekend after returning to practice Friday on a limited basis.I was encouraged by what I saw, coach Gary Kubiak said. Well see how he comes out of it in the morning and move him around again tomorrow. I think its kind of going exactly like we thought it was going to go leading up to game time. It was encouraging today.Davis was officially listed as 50-50 with a strained oblique that knocked him out of last weeks game at Tennessee. But he said, I felt solid. Im excited for Sunday and I think Im going to be ready.Fellow inside linebacker Brandon Marshall said he hopes to play at Kansas City next week after being ruled out against the Patriots. This will be the second straight game hes missed since aggravating a pulled left hamstring at Jacksonville on Dec. 4.Corey Nelson will start in place of Marshall when the Broncos (8-5) host the Patriots (11-2) , and Zaire Anderson is prepared to play significant snaps even if Davis is a go.Im preparing like Im starting, said Anderson, who drew praise for his five-tackle performance last week after Davis went out,He got thrown in there last week and we played our best half, Kubiak said.Still, given Denvers strong pass rush and stout secondary, Tom Brady and the Patriots are expected to go after Denvers inside linebackers by sending their tight ends and running backs on intermediate routes over the middle.They tried to test the linebackers last year, so I definitely could see them doing it again, said Davis, adding his injury doesnt limit him defending the pass or run.The Broncos placed long snapper Casey Kreiter, whos missed the last month with a strained calf, on injured reserve Friday and promoted rookie outside linebacker Vontarrius Dora from their practice squad.His injury just hasnt responded, said Kubiak, who had carried two long snappers on his 53-man roster since Nov. 25 when nine-year veteran free agent Thomas Gafford was signed.Congratulations to Dora. The kid has done a great job, so he gets rewarded. I thinnk theres a place for him.dddddddddddd You may see him before this year is out. Hes got a bright future.Dora (6-4, 256 pounds) had a spectacular training camp after going undrafted out of Louisiana Tech. He had 10 tackles, eight of them solo, two sacks and a forced fumble for Denver in the preseason.Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison missed practice all week because of a family matter but Kubiak said that wont affect the play-calling Sunday. Kubiak and QB coach Greg Knapp were still in touch with Dennison throughout the week as they installed the game plan.Weve met every night even though hes not here, Kubiak said.The Broncos have been a slow-starting team, scoring just 23 first-quarter points compared to New Englands league-best 103.The Broncos know they have to buck that trend Sunday.Its important all of the time, Kubiak said. We know weve struggled. When we have started well, weve played pretty well. When you look at this team, youre playing a team that since Tom has come back, theyre the top scoring team in football and yet, they dont give up points. Points and possessions are a premium. Red zone possessions are a premium. If you go back to our two games last year, we played some great red zone defense. Offensively, we did a good job in the red zone.Game notes It was lucky, pass rusher Shaq Barrett said of his backward, overhead, half-court shot at the Nuggets game Thursday night. ... Frigid temperatures are forecast for kickoff Sunday, but Brandon McManus, who missed a 62-yarder in overtime against Kansas City on a cold November night, said that doesnt necessarily cut down the kickers range. Technically, it should, he said. The balls will continue to get deflated throughout the game. As long as Im able to stay warm, Ill still be able to kick from long distances.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '