体坛英语新闻：Knicks snap six-game losing streak after D'Antoni's resignation

NEW YORK, March 14 (Xinhua) -- New York Knicks put an end to their six-game losing streak, routing Portland Trail Blazers 121-79, on Wednesday evening, just hours after their head coach Mike D'Antoni decided to resign after three plus lackluster seasons here.

Amare Stoudemire made all seven shots in the first half, Carmelo Anthony, who denied wanting a trade or having friction with D'Antoni earlier Wednesday, passed and shot well, collecting 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting and tied a season high with seven assists.

Stoudemire finished with 17 points and shot 8 of 10 and Jeremy Lin scored six and dished out six assists before all three sat out the fourth quarter while the Knicks rang up their highest point total of the season.

J.R. Smith and Steve Novak made 15 three pointers combined, piling up 43 points together. But the points mainly came after Knicks already gained a huge lead.

The Knicks pressed hard on the Trail Blazers from the very early beginning, allowing only 29 points in the first half, forcing the visitors to commit 17 first-half turnovers and registered only 5 assists.

The Knicks had dropped into a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference before breaking out with the kind of effort that was expected from a team that D'Antoni said was good enough to contend for a championship.

D'Antoni decided to step down Wednesday, shocking his bosses and players. Mike Woodson, who had coached the Atlanta Hawks before joining the Knicks' coaching staff last summer, took the job as the interim coach for the remainder of the season, but Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan made it clear that he would be re-evaluated after the season.

"I've got to get a practice under my belt to be able to add some things as we move forward," Woodson said before the game. "I told everybody to take a deep breath and relax, all's not bad.

"You hate to lose a coach. Mike D'Antoni was good to me, by giving me an opportunity when I was out, a year sitting on the side watching. And I have a great deal of respect for that. But we've got to move on. We kind of can't undo what's been done," added he.

LaMarcus Aldridge and Gerald Wallace each scored 15 points for the Trail Blazers, who were blown out for the second straight night and lost for the fourth time in five games.

The Knicks raced to a 25-12 lead and extended it to 55-29 at the break, their fewest points allowed in an opening quarter or a half all season. They had 16 assists on 21 baskets, with Lin getting one of his six by throwing a long pass on the break to a streaking Anthony for a layup.

The Knicks will face back-to-back clash with the Indiana Pacers, who just defeated the Philadelphis 76ers 111-94 on Wednesday.