INFO » But its a great way to finish.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - In nearly 800 NBA regular-games, Carmelo Anthony had never played in one like this. It didnt matter. Eliminated from post-season contention for the first time in his 11-year career, Anthony said it was tough even coming to the arena on Sunday night. "But mentally, you just had to put yourself in that mindset. Although youre not playing for nothing, if you suit up, youve still got to go out there and play ball," Anthony said. He and the Knicks did it well, getting 20 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. and beating the Chicago Bulls 100-89. No longer with any hopes of their own, the Knicks snapped the Bulls seven-game winning streak and dropped them back into a tie with Toronto for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference with two to play. "We let a big game slip tonight. It was probably the biggest game of the season," Bulls centre Joakim Noah said. "Disappointing the way our mentality wasnt good today, but overall we just wont have time, just got to let this one go, get ready tomorrow." Anthony and J.R. Smith each had 17 points for the Knicks, who were eliminated Saturday when Atlanta beat Miami, ending New Yorks run of three straight post-season berths. Anthonys first season without a post-season comes as he prepares to become a free agent in July. He had a hard time looking ahead beyond the next two games — which he isnt even sure he will play in because of nagging shoulder pain that he might get checked. "Its just hard for me to even think past tonight, right now, at this moment," Anthony said. "Everything is just, for me, just cloudy. Ive never been in this situation before. I dont even know what to say about this situation." A 54-win division champion last season, they believed they were built to play deep into the spring, so confident in what they had that Amare Stoudemire said the expectations should have been even higher. "On paper, we might be the best team in the league," he said before the game. "Weve got great players on this team whove accomplished so much. We just couldnt put it together." Noah had 13 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists for the Bulls. Jimmy Butler scored 17 points, but Chicago was just 6 of 22 (27 per cent) from 3-point range. "Defensively, we werent very good," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I liked the fight to come back. I thought we made some good plays down the stretch and we missed some wide-open 3s that you live with." The Knicks led 45-39 at halftime, then Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers and Raymond Felton made one for a 9-0 spurt that opened a 60-46 advantage, and the lead reached 67-50 when Anthony nailed a 3. Chicago was down 17 again with 7 1/2 minutes to play before finally making a push, cutting it to 93-87 when Taj Gibsons three-point play capped a 15-4 run. But they repeatedly misfired from the perimeter, preventing them from getting any closer. The Knicks have played well in March and April, beating Toronto on Friday, but its too late after they had already fallen to 21-40. "Being the coach, I just apologize to the fans, because again, they pay their hard-earned money to come out and see us play and we didnt come into this season expecting this," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. Whatever expectations the Bulls had were gone after Derrick Rose was lost to season-ending knee surgery in late November and Luol Deng was traded on Jan. 7. But Chicago has not only regrouped but flourished, bringing an Eastern Conference-best 35-14 mark in 2014 into Sundays play. But they will need help now — perhaps from the Knicks, who host Toronto in Wednesdays finale — to get the No. 3 spot, since the Raptors would get the tiebreaker as a division champion. Chicago closes against Orlando on Monday and at Charlotte on Wednesday. Notes: The game was originally scheduled for a 1 p.m. start and be shown nationally on ABC, but was booted shortly after the Bulls 109-90 rout of the Knicks in Chicago on March 2. The Indiana-Oklahoma City game was shifted to that marquee spot. ... Chicago was trying for its first eight-game winning streak since Feb. 20-March 7, 2012. Cheap Dodgers Jerseys China .com) - The NFL is investigating whether the New England Patriots intentionally deflated balls during Sundays AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis. Cheap Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys . -- Fresh off their surprising run in the playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers have signed head coach Terry Stotts to a multi-year contract extension. http://www.cheapdodgersjerseys.com/ . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. Hyun-Jin Ryu Jersey . Ending a nine-game losing streak? That gave the Milwaukee Bucks veteran forward a reason to smile. Alex Wood Jersey . Julien coached the Bruins to the Stanley Cup championship in 2010-11 and is the longest serving coach in consecutive seasons in the teams history. Claude is one of the top coaches in the NHL and has consistently shown a passion for winning, general manager Peter Chiarelli said Sunday in announcing the signing.Englands bowlers were outstanding on day three of the first Test against India in Rajkot, according to assistant coach Paul Farbrace. After hundreds from Murali Vijay (126) and Cheteshwar Pujara (124) helped the hosts eat into Englands first innings total of 537, the tourists took two wickets in the final two overs of the day to reduce India to 319-4.Farbrace believes it was just reward for the bowling attack after battling away on a good batting wicket against two set batsmen. Todays been outstanding, said Farbrace. We were saying with 10 minutes to go wed like one more wicket to give the boys a bit of a lift into tomorrow, so to get two in the last few minutes is fantastic. Highlights from the third day of the first Test between India and England in Rajkot. The bowlers are exhausted. They put a lot into today. They kept going throughout, and deserved their rewards at the end.And when you do get your rewards at the end, it makes is so much easier for the guys looking ahead to tomorrow.Theres still an awful lot of crickett to be played in this game, so were not getting carried away.dddddddddddd But its a great way to finish. Adil Rashid celebrates his late wicket of Murali Vijay in the penultimate over I think weve learned an awful lot from how we bowled in Bangladesh. We talked about needing to be better at holding lines, holding lengths.So to concede just 64 runs to two set batsmen in that middle session, and 250-odd runs total in the day on a very good pitch was so pleasing.It is tough conditions, but its tough for everybody, and our spinners, in particular, have shown today they have learned a lot from the Bangladesh experience. I think all three of them bowled brilliantly well.We know theres a long way to go, but it just shows this team is very capable of improving and improving quickly. It has been an outstanding day for us. India vs England November 12, 2016, 3:45am Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Watch live coverage from day four of the first Test between India and England in Rajkot, from 3.45am on Sky Sports 2 on Saturday. Or watch for £6.99 without a contract - on NOW TV. Also See: Late wickets give England hope WATCH: Day Three highlights Crickets Mannequin Challenge Cricket videos ' ' '