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NEW YORK -- Once they outlasted Kyrie Irving, the New York Knicks could turn their attention to the next point guard coming to Madison Square Garden. Even Linsanity shouldnt be as tough to deal with as the guy wearing the black mask Saturday night. Raymond Felton scored 25 points, Tyson Chandler had 23, and the New York Knicks overcame Irvings career-high 41 points and the absence of Carmelo Anthony to post a 103-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks won their fourth straight when Anderson Varejao missed the second of two free throws with 1 second left. They improved the NBAs only unbeaten home record to 10-0, their best start since the 1991-92 team won its first 11 at Madison Square Garden. "Guys stepped up. Raymond played great, Tyson played great, and it was just enough," Knicks forward Steve Novak said. Anthony, the NBAs No. 2 scorer, missed the game after spraining his left ankle Thursday in the third quarter of a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. But Chandler scored 21 in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Felton and Jason Kidd combined for 15 assists. It almost wasnt enough thanks to Irving, who had no problems wearing a black protective mask after breaking a bone in his face on a hard fall Friday night against Milwaukee. "When a guy gets that hot, theres nothing you can really do, other than just stay in front of him and make him take tough shots, which he did. He just hit great shots and we still got the win, though," Felton said. "Any time a guy comes in your building and scores 41 points and he still got a loss, then you did your job." Rookie Chris Copeland scored 11 in his first career start in place of Anthony, who had 30 points in 22 minutes before getting hurt when he landed awkwardly after a hard foul by Dwight Howard. The Knicks improved to 2-1 without him, adding this to a surprising rout in Miami on Dec. 6. The Knicks hope Anthony can play Monday against Houston in Jeremy Lins return to Madison Square Garden, where the undrafted rookie from Harvard became a fan favourite last season and played his way into a big contract with the Rockets. "He did an excellent job of bringing a lot of cheer. He brought a lot of great vibes to the city and just the arena in general. I had a fun time playing with him," Chandler said. "So I dont know what his reception is, but whatever it is hes on the other side now, so he has to pay for that." Leading by 10 midway through the fourth quarter, the Knicks had their lead cut to 102-101 when Irving made two free throws with 10.1 seconds left. After Novak made one free throw, Irving pushed the ball up and seemingly the whole Knicks team converged on him, leaving Varejao uncovered toward the left sideline. Irving threw him the ball and Varejao dribbled into the lane, where he was fouled with a second left. After making the first, he may have been distracted when the officials took the ball back from him so the Knicks could make a late substitution, and the second shot fell out. Irving scored 17 points in the final period, the second-year pro surpassing his previous best of 34 points despite saying he arrived less than three hours before the tip and with only about four hours of sleep after getting fitted for the mask. He was asked if he was tempted to keep the ball for himself on the last possession. "Theres always temptation there, but I have the utmost trust in my teammates and you know Andy made a great play, got to the free throw line and gave ourselves a chance to win," Irving said. CJ Miles finished with 17 points for the Cavs, who had three masked men in uniform as they dropped their third straight. Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller were already wearing them for previous facial injuries. "We played good. We played hard. Answered a lot questions that I had for the guys after the game," Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. "Its just a matter of us doing it on a nightly basis. Thats the biggest thing. We cant do it just against the Lakers or the Knicks. You got to do it against everybody and I know were capable of playing that hard every single night." J.R Smith scored 16 points and Novak had 13 for the Knicks, who are 21-1 at MSG in the regular season under Mike Woodson. Copeland made all three shots in the first quarter, but Thompson was 4 for 4 as the Cavs took a 28-27 lead. The Knicks opened a seven-point lead in the second but the Cavs came back to tie it before Novaks 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining sent New York to halftime with a 48-45 advantage. The Knicks scored the first seven of the second half, opening a 55-45 lead on Feltons 3-pointer a little more than 2 minutes into the third quarter. Cleveland didnt let them get any further away, getting the deficit down to two late in the period before trailing 78-73 going to the fourth. NOTES: The Knicks were also without reserve forward Rasheed Wallace because of a sore left foot. ... Longtime Knicks TV and radio announcer John Andariese was honoured with the fifth annual Dick McGuire Knickerbocker Legacy award, given by the family of the Hall of Fame player and team employee to a person who "exudes the qualities of what it means to be a Knickerbocker." Andariese retired before the season after more than 35 years of broadcasting the Knicks. cheap jerseys us . -- Kenny Perry and Sean OHair birdied five of the last six holes to win the Franklin Templeton Shootout on Sunday. cheap jerseys . -- New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has agreed to terms on a five-year contract with free agent linebacker David Hawthorne.FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez is close to retiring from the NFL. How close is up in the air. Gonzalez said Friday that hes 95 per cent sure the upcoming season will be his last, but he wasnt ready to completely rule out a return in 2013. "Ive had a great run," he said. "I dont want to be one of those players toward the end of their careers -- and nothing against guys that have done it like that in the past -- but I want to make sure that Im at the top of my game when I do go out." After the Atlanta Falcons finished their second day of training camp Friday, Gonzalez said off-season discussions with family members and friends helped him understand that the end is near. Hes accomplished quite a bit in 15 seasons and last year surpassed Terrell Owens, Tim Brown, Cris Carter and Marvin Harrison to become No. 2 on the leagues career receptions list with 1,149 catches. Considering that he earned a 12th trip to the Pro Bowl last season, Gonzalez believes he could play at a high level for perhaps another three years, but at 36, he doesnt want to hang around too long. "Sometimes you have to call it quits, and Im just one of those type of guys that I cant handle being average at this sport because Ive been at the top for a while," Gonzalez said. "I hope thats not coming off as cocky, but its just the way I operate. I dont want to come out there and be somewhat of a role player." The Falcons, who acquired Gonzalez in a March 2009 trade that sent a second-round draft pick to Kansas City, signed him to a one-year, $6.9 million contract extension before a Week 17 win over Tampa Bay last season. Though Atlanta played poorly the following week in a wild-card playoff loss at the New York Giants, Gonzalez still finished the regular season with his best numbers in three years with the Falcons, catching 80 passes for 875 yards and seven touchdowns.dddddddddddd Gonzalez insisted that he doesnt want to publicly discuss retirement again until the end of the season. "I dont want to be a distraction to myself, first and foremost," he said. "I dont want to play games in my head. Im sticking to it, and well know at the end of the season. We have a long time before that day even comes." Gonzalez is the first NFL tight end -- and 13th player in history -- with more than 13,000 yards receiving. He holds nearly every NFL record, including 95 touchdown catches, for his position. One statistic that amazes Falcons coach Mike Smith is Gonzalezs ball security. He hasnt fumbled since Week 16 of 2006. The last time he lost a fumble was in Week 5 of 1999 -- a span of 202 straight games and 1,038 receptions. "Its phenomenal," Smith said. "It says a lot to the way he works in practice. When you watch him, hes playing it like its a game. Hes catching the ball. Hes putting it away. Hes finishing his catches and running through the end zone. It just speaks volumes." A storybook ending for Gonzalez would be to win a playoff game for the first time in his career and help the Falcons earn their first Super Bowl title. But for now, he plans to soak in the atmosphere of each day. "Im about 95 per cent sure (to retire), but Im enjoying it," he said. "Its kind of a good thing. Because I know this is probably going to be my last camp, I get to enjoy it a little bit more and enjoy the guys a little bit more and really concentrate on just having fun this season. And that means winning games. Weve got a great football team." ' ' '