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. Marquise Blair Womens Jersey . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Marshawn Lynch Jersey . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/russell-wilson-jersey/ . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Marquise Blair Youth Jersey . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Marquise Blair Seahawks Jersey . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. RIO DE JANEIRO -- From Kyrie to KD, DeMar to DeMarcus, many players on the U.S. Olympic mens basketball team are so well known to NBA fans they can simply go by first names or nicknames.The Americans have 12 NBA players on their roster, headlined by former MVP Kevin Durant and featuring multiple All-Stars. Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan and DeMarcus Cousins played on the team that won the gold medal two years ago in the Basketball World Cup.There are plenty more players in the tournament who either are familiar faces or could soon be. There are a record 46 current NBA players set to play in the Olympics, the league said, along with 18 more former players.We know that there are great basketball players all over the world, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. Over 20 percent of the NBA is international now and so theres a deep respect for the game, for the international game, and we hope that well be able to show that respect in the matter in which we play here in Rio de Janeiro.A look at some players to watch when competition begins Saturday:DARIO SARIC , CROATIA. The will he or wont he join the 76ers questions were as frequent as the losses last year in Philadelphia, but the team got good news in July when the former lottery pick signed with the 76ers . The 6-foot-10 forward played the last two seasons with Turkish team Anadolu Efes and looked NBA-ready when he averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds while winning MVP honors of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament that Croatia won to earn its spot in Brazil.YI JIANLIAN , CHINA. Once so highly regarded that he was the No. 6 pick in the 2007 draft, Yis NBA career didnt amount to much. But he remains a solid international player who was the MVP of the FIBA Asia championship last summer when his team clinched its Olympic berth, and the 7-footer scored 18 points in an exhibition game last month against the U.S., Chinas opening opponent on Saturrday.dddddddddddd.GUILLERMO WILLY HERNANGOMEZ , SPAIN. The New York Knicks noticed him while scouting Kristaps Porzingis, who was playing for the same professional team in Spain. So they acquired the rights to the 2015 second-round pick of Philadelphia and signed him last month so he could join the team next season. In the meantime, the 6-10 center gets valuable experience playing for his country while Marc Gasol is sidelined while recovering from a broken foot.BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC , SERBIA. Not to be confused with and not related to the similar-sounding Bojan Bogdanovic, a Brooklyn Nets guard who plays for Croatia. Bogdan Bogdanovic could someday join him in the NBA, as the Sacramento Kings own his rights after a recent trade with the Phoenix Suns. He has chosen to remain in Europe at least for next season and showed the Kings what they will be missing when he had 26 points and eight assists in the championship game of the Olympic qualifying tournament the Serbians won last month.DOMANTAS SABONIS , LITHUANIA. The son of Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis played for Gonzaga and after being drafted by Orlando in the first round was traded to Oklahoma City in a deal for Serge Ibaka. At 6-10, he could give the Lithuanians an imposing front line alongside the 6-11 Jonas Valanciunas of the Toronto Raptors.PATRICIO GARINO , ARGENTINA. The San Antonio Spurs have done pretty well with an Argentine on their roster, and they added another alongside Manu Ginobili when they signed Garino last month. The 6-7 swingman scored 14.1 points per game last season in helping George Washington win the NIT championship, and playing for the Orlando Magics summer league team averaged 12 points in three games.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney ' ' '