ERST LESEN! » ker in the MLS playoffs this season.Seattle certainly di

NEW YORK -- Before Phil Jackson can begin reshaping their future, the New York Knicks are trying to make something of this season. Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 20, and the Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 115-94 on Saturday, giving them a season-high six straight victories as they prepare to welcome Jackson back to the franchise. "Weve got to really focus in on whats the task at hand, and thats still trying to make this push and not even looking forward to next season at this point," Anthony said. Amare Stoudemire and J.R. Smith each scored 15 for the Knicks, who easily ended their daytime woes by pounding the team with the NBAs worst record. New York began the day 3 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the final post-season spot in the Eastern Conference. But the playoff push has taken a backseat to the news that Jackson was coming in to run the Knicks front office -- except in the locker room. "I think our focus is solely on what we have to accomplish to make the playoffs, to be honest," centre Tyson Chandler said. "I know its a lot going on, but as an athlete, you dont pay too much attention to it, because its out of your control, anyway." The Knicks will introduce the 11-time champion as a coach at a press conference Tuesday morning. Jackson will find a team playing its best basketball of a disappointing season. "Better late than never," Stoudemire said. The Knicks shot 55 per cent, led by as much as 25 points and have won six in a row by double digits for the first time since November 1969, according to information provided to the Knicks by Elias. "The easiest thing to do is to start talking about next year at this point in time right now, but the guys on the team seem pretty confident about just staying focused right now, winning basketball games and try to make this push for the playoffs," Anthony said. Nate Wolters scored 15 for the Bucks, who lost their third straight. Brandon Knight and Ramon Sessions each added 14. The Knicks had lost all seven games that began before 3:30 p.m., six by double digits. Things were so bad earlier this season that coach Mike Woodson even had the players stay overnight in a hotel the night before a home game. But with unusually high energy in the arena for a noon tip, whether because of the winning streak or the Jackson news, the Knicks were sharp from the start. New York made 55 per cent of its shots in a 30-point first quarter, then scored 30 more in the second. The Knicks even got a banked-in 3-pointer from the corner by Iman Shumpert, shortly after Milwaukees Ersan Ilyasova missed a wide-open layup. "I thought we had no real defensive presence," Bucks coach Larry Drew said. The Knicks led 88-66 after three. They have feasted on a weak portion of their schedule to hang around in the playoff race, though things turn tougher with a visit from Indiana on Wednesday. Woodson continues to stress that the Knicks can still make something of this season, though the focus on Jackson has turned much of the attention to the teams future. "Its basketball. Teams, they try to reshape, they go through changes and this is no different," Woodson said before the game. "Youre bringing a great basketball mind into your organization and eventually itll be reshaped. So how and who and when, only time will tell." Jackson played for a pair of title-winning teams in New York, including the 1973 squad whose 40th anniversary the Knicks celebrated last season. The drought seems certain to extend at least another year, even if the Knicks can win enough to get into the post-season. They were helped Saturday with the return of starters Chandler, who missed two games for family reasons, and Stoudemire, who sat out the last one to rest. Shumpert finished with 14 points. "We really feel like were going to get that spot," Chandler said. "If we take care of our business, we do what were supposed to do, we feel like weve got a great shot." Notes: The Knicks have won the last five meetings at Madison Square Garden and took a 98-97 overall lead in the all-time series. ... Knight had scored 20 or more in the previous four games. Nike Shoes Black Friday Online . Kripps, of Summerland, B.C., and Edmontons Barnett used a terrific second run to move up two spots, putting the Canadian duo in medal contention with the final two runs set for Monday (11:15 a.m. ET, streaming live at cbc. Nike Shoes Black Friday China . Ireland was the last unbeaten side in the championship after France fell to Wales on Friday, and was favoured to end a three-match losing run to England with a side with more than twice as many caps, rampant momentum, and added incentive to celebrate Brian ODriscolls world record-tying 139th test cap. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/ . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. Wholesale Nike Shoes Black Friday . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Cheap Nike Shoes Black Friday . His Brazilian opponents said he produced miracles. There is no doubt that Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was the one responsible for spoiling Brazils hopes of another World Cup victory at its home tournament.SEATTLE - This is not where the Sounders wanted to be.We talked about three scenarios: winning the game, tying the game and worst case is getting out of there with a 1-0 loss against us, Seattle midfielder Brad Evans said.Worst case it was. The Sounders lost the first leg of the MLS Cup Western Conference finals 1-0 in Los Angeles a week ago. The second leg is Sunday in Seattle.It could have gone both ways, Evans said. We had a number of chances to score. They had better of the possession and counter attacks that were dangerous but that always happens against them and I thought we held firm defensively.Seattles only other appearance in the Western Conference finals came in 2012 when it came home for the second leg against Los Angeles facing a 3-0 deficit.The Galaxy are trying to extend the professional career of Landon Donovan for one more week and erase the memory of last years Western Conference final when they let a 1-0 lead against Real Salt Lake slip away.If the Galaxy play as well as they did in the first leg last Sunday, they likely will be playing for a fifth league championship at home.It just creates an environment around our club where were focused on winning championships, and were a couple of games away from doing that, Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena said during a conference call this week. Were on the same page. We believe that thats a charge of our club: to win championships, and ourr focus each and every year is on the MLS Cup.ddddddddddddSeattle — trying to become the first team to win the MLS Cup, Supporters Shield and U.S. Open Cup in the same season — could force extra time with a 1-0 win in regulation. But any goal by the Galaxy would make a Seattle comeback even more difficult thanks to the implementation of road goals as a tiebreaker in the MLS playoffs this season.Seattle certainly didnt have problems scoring in the regular season. The Sounders scored the second-most goals in the league (65), but in the playoffs their only goal came on a header by Osvaldo Alonso in the first leg of the conference semifinals against Dallas.Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins have been silenced in the post-season, although the pair created a number of opportunities — in the semifinals against Dallas and last weekend against the Galaxy.The Sounders need to make sure that when Oba and Clint push forward, were supporting them, Evans said. We tend to sit back, work really hard defensively and watch these guys take off because we know that theyre going to get something out of it.Seattle will try to match what it did against Los Angeles in the regular-season finale, a result that clinched the Supporters Shield. Two goals by Marco Pappa in the final 15 minutes brought a 2-0 home victory. That same score Sunday would put Seattle in the league championship game for the first time. ' ' '