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INDIANAPOLIS -- Lance Stephenson savors each opportunity he gets to beat up on his hometown teams -- especially when the Pacers are winning. Isaiah Pead Steelers Jersey . On Thursday night, Indianas flamboyant guard had a big night on national television. Stephenson had a career-high 28 points, four rebounds and four assists and led the Pacers to their second-most lopsided win of the season, 117-89 over the Knicks. "If hes flashy, hes being flashy making basketball coach," coach Frank Vogel said. "One of our assistants said, Boy, I wish I had Lances energy every day. His competitive spirit is as high as anyone weve coached." Stephenson has been playing this way all season. He leads the NBA with three triple-doubles, the most of any Pacers player since Detlef Schrempf in 1992-93. With any luck, hed have a couple of more, too. And after a nasty crossover or spectacular move to the basket, he might show off some of that New York flair by wiggling his hips. But the Nets and Knicks seem to bring out the best in the Brooklyn native. This time, on a night that may serve as an audition for the All-Star selectors, he showed the whole basketball world what he could do. Stephenson went 10 of 17 from the field, 5 of 5 from the free-throw line, 3 of 7 on 3-pointers and had no turnovers in 28 minutes. His previous scoring high (26) came Dec. 23 in a 103-86 win at Brooklyn, and before this season, Stephenson had scored 22 points just two times -- once against Chicago in April 2012; the other, of course, came at Madison Square Garden last spring. Even a former Indiana University basketball star like Mike Woodson, who was drilled in defence under Bob Knight, came away impressed. "Youve really got to tip your hat to him," the Knicks coach said. "We had no answers for him." That has been a league-wide problem for Pacers foes, and not just against Stephenson. Indiana won its third straight to maintain its grip on the NBAs best record, extend its Eastern Conference lead over Miami to four games and continue its claim to the leagues best home record, 20-1. The Pacers arent slowing down, either. They beat Washington by 27 on Friday, Sacramento by 24 on Tuesday and handed what was one of the leagues hottest teams its most embarrassing road loss of the season. For the most part, Indiana has relied on its staunch defence. Stephenson and Paul George have suddenly given Indiana a devastating offensive punch, too. George added 25 points and seven rebounds on a night six players scored in double figures. The Pacers produced season highs for total points and points in a half (63) for the second straight game, and they even heeded the advice of team president Larry Bird, by cutting down their turnovers to a season-low five. "We have set a goal, and we want to be the No. 1 seed (in the East)," Stephenson said. "Every night I try to bring something to the table." The Knicks just couldnt keep up. Carmelo Anthony finished with 28 points, nine in the first six minutes and 18 in the first quarter when it was still a game. Tyson Chandler had 13 points and nine rebounds, while Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith each had 12. Smith played nearly 28 minutes after being benched in two of the Knicks previous four games. "Theyre a good team, but I dont think theyre 30 points better than our team," Woodson said after the rematch of last springs conference semifinals, which Indiana also won. "We were awful." Things started well for New York as Anthony pushed them to a 16-8 lead. But the Pacers rallied with an 11-2 run to take a 28-26 lead. Anthony bailed out the Knicks with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to make it 31-30 after one. Indiana seized control with an 11-1 spurt midway through the second quarter and pulled away late in the first half with a 16-7 run. That made it 63-48 at halftime. George opened the second half by scoring 10 points in a 15-8 spurt, which made it 78-56, and Stephenson closed it out as the Knicks couldnt get closer than 16 the rest of the way. "We understand how good we are when we run," George said. "I think thats the best way to put and the biggest way to look at it." NOTES: Kenyon Martin left in the second quarter and Amare Stoudemire followed him to the locker room in the third quarter. Both had sprained left ankles and did not return. ... Former Pacers All-Star Metta World Peace was inactive in New Yorks only regular-season game in Indianapolis. ... Fans chanted "Reg-gie, Reg-gie" when former Pacers star turned TV analyst Reggie Miller was shown on the overhead screen during the fourth quarter. ... Indiana has won four straight home games against the Knicks. Artie Burns Steelers Jersey . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. Javon Hargrave Steelers Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. http:///...rns-Steelers-Jersey/ . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead.ST. LOUIS -- David Freese waited a long time for this curtain call. He was impressed with the patience of St. Louis fans. Freese hit a grand slam for his first homer of the season, and the Cardinals used a five-run first inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 on Friday night. "Thats the biggest thing about this, you want to join the fun," Freese said. "Fortunately enough, I havent done squat this year and weve got a heck of a record." The Brewers made it close on a pair of three-run homers by Aramis Ramirez off Jaime Garcia before losing for the 13th time in 15 games. The bottom four spots in the lineup were a combined 0 for 15. "Nice to see Rammy get a couple," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "I think hes been swinging the ball really well and hasnt had much to show for it." The Cardinals had five hits and a walk while batting around against Wily Peralta (3-4) in the first, but the right-hander was still in the game when Garcia (5-2) was chased with one out in the sixth. Milwaukee got one hit in 3 2-3 innings against three relievers, with Edward Mujica working the ninth for his 12th save in 12 chances. "The bullpen did a great job, they picked me up basically," Garcia said. "I didnt do my job." Ryan Braun reached on a leadoff single in the eighth, but was caught stealing for a double play after Trevor Rosenthal struck out Ramirez. Carlos Gomez then popped up a bunt to end the inning. Freese entered with a .209 average, four RBIs and a .287 on-base percentage, struggling to find his stroke after starting the season on the 15-day disabled list with a back injury from chasing a foul ball in spring training. He batted .293 last year with 20 homers and 79 RBIs, the first time he played more than 100 games in the majors. Freese didnt think failing to produce in his hometown made it any tougher, mentioning numerous helpful suggestions. He thought the best advice came from those who told him to just be himself and forget about his numbers. "You hear the crowd when it went out, that shows how much they care about their team," Freese said. "Its cool to come out here every day. That curtain call was definitely probably more special than the home run." Peralta said Freese hit a changeup that was supposed to be down and away but hung over the middle. The Brewers thought Peralta had some bad luuck earlier in the inning. Darrius Heyward-Bey Jersey. "We hit three ground balls in the first inning, theyre outs," Roenicke said. "They hit ground balls, theyre hits, so you get a little frustrated. "I dont want to say thats why he made the bad pitch to Freese, he just got one up and Freese did a nice job of hitting." Matt Holliday had two hits and two RBIs for St. Louis, which has won 13 of 16 and leads the National League at 27-14. Allen Craig had three hits and a walk and leadoff man Matt Carpenter had three hits and scored twice. Ramirez lined a pitch into left-field stands in the fourth for just his second hit in four starts, and cleared the wall in centre in the sixth for his third homer of the season. It was his 26th career multihomer game and left him with 32 homers against the Cardinals, tied with Adam Dunn for second-most among active players. The first inning has been by far the Brewers best this season. They had outscored opponents 35-9, the most runs in the majors and fewest allowed. Peralta appeared to have a good shot at escaping the inning down just a run when he struck out Jon Jay for the second out. Jay entered with a .440 career average against Milwaukee, and Freese had been in a season-long slump with just one extra-base hit and one RBI this month. Freese then hammered a 1-1 pitch to straightaway centre with a stroke reminiscent of the 2011 post-season when he was World Series and NL championship series MVP. Freese made a curtain call responding to a sellout crowd, but struck out his last two trips against Peralta. Jay got an RBI single in his second trip to make it 6-0 in the third. Garcia retired nine in a row on 28 pitches before Norichika Aoki slapped a single to open the fourth. Braun walked with one out and Ramirez cut the deficit in half, lining a 3-1 pitch into the left-field seats. Garcia was charged with six runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. NOTES: Roenicke called his first team meeting of the year Thursday after getting outscored 10-2 in consecutive losses at Pittsburgh. ... Roenicke plans to rest Ramirez every third game or so for now while the veteran, who returned in early May from a left knee sprain that knocked him out a month, regains strength and form. "I dont think I cant say that in a week from now, I can leave him out there and not worry about. I know Im not there," Roenicke said before the game. Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '