-The Knicks fell to the Mavs 92-77 at The Garden. The end result was predictable. Especially going up against the league’s best team. But the bigger issue for them is that both Channing Frye and Stephon Marbury left the game with injuries. Frye didn’t return for the second half after being poked in the right eye. Marbury injured his left arm while fighting for a loose ball with five and a half minutes to go. The problem is if either injury is serious, Isiah Thomas would be running out of players because valuable sixth man David Lee still hasn’t returned from an ankle sprain, Quentin Richardson is out with a bad back and Jamal Crawford is out for the season. The Knicks can’t afford to lose anyone else if they want to qualify for the playoffs. Fortunately for them, they remained only half a game behind the Nets because the Nuggets defeated them 94-90 at CAA. While health remains an issue for the Orange and Blue, free throws also must be worked on. Tonight, they misfired on half of their 30 attempts. Maybe if they made a higher percentage, they could’ve been in the game at the end. Meanwhile, the more polished Mavs went 21-for-27.

-Knicks fans have to be encouraged with Renaldo Balkman’s contributions. The controversial 2006 20th overall pick has backed up Isiah’s selection by playing the grinding style which he brought to South Carolina. Fresh off a double double, Balkman contributed seven points and 10 boards including four offensive in 30 minutes. The undersized power forward always brings a lot of energy and plays solid D. So far, he’s made the Coach/GM look smart and won plenty of supporters.
-It didn’t take long for Cam Janssen to be forced to drop the gloves by a Leaf as retribution for his late hit on Tomas Kaberle which concussed the top defenseman. Goon extraordinaire Wade Belak obliged the Devils’ enforcer and the two engaged in an entertaining scrap which lasted about 1:36. Both got their share of blows in with Belak controlling the early rounds and Janssen coming on at the end. So we’ll just call it a draw.

-As for the game itself, the Leafs would exact the ultimate revenge on the scoreboard, prevailing 2-1 thanks to goals by Kyle Wellwood and Nik Antropov. The Devs’ lone goal came from rookie Travis Zajac, who responded to Antropov’s third period tally to cut it to one. Though the Devils would pressure late, they couldn’t beat Andrew Raycroft again. The Toronto netminder finished with 24 saves to lift his team to a huge win, giving them 80 points and putting them into an eighth place tie with Carolina and Montreal (1-0 shutout winners over Boston).

-Meanwhile in Tampa, Rick DiPietro returned to net for the slumping Islanders. And though his team rallied from two down to score three straight, they ultimately fell for the eighth time in a row to their nemesis the Lightning, 4-3 in overtime. Richard Zednik, Richard Park and Miroslav Satan got three unanswered to give the Isles a one-goal lead headed to the third. But they couldn’t hold it as ex-Ranger Jason Ward put home a rebound to knot it. It would go to OT but it didn’t take long for Lightning to strike as Filip Kuba broke free from Satan and redirected home Eric Perrin’s centering feed just 55 seconds in to send the Fishsticks to their fourth consecutive defeat. And though they got a point which gives them 79, it wasn’t enough. The Lightning meanwhile got a much needed win to pull three points up for sixth on the Rangers.

-Very disappointed to read that Kim Clijsters will skip the French Open and most likely miss her final U.S. Open due to her wedding to ex-Nova star Brian Lynch. If this was how the former ‘05 Open champ was going to end her career, why even have a final year on the WTA Tour? The Belgian is still a top five player and one of the best on the tour. She’s always a threat at slams. It’s just sad that such a talented player who brings so much good to the court is going out this way.