Felton helps Knicks stay undefeated

Veteran guard Jason Kidd nailed three fourth quarter three pointers as the New York Knicks beat San Antonio 104-100 Thursday to remain the league’s last remaining unbeaten team. Raymond Felton had a game-high 25 points and Kidd contributed 14 for the Knicks who are off to their best start since compiling a 7-0 record to begin the 1993-94 season. The Knicks have won six games to start the season as they used a late offensive burst to beat the Spurs, scoring 27 points in the final seven-plus minutes. J.R. Smith came off the bench to score 17 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer late in the game in front of a crowd of 18,581. Tyson Chandler finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. New York won despite Carmelo Anthony’s off night as the Knicks’ top scoring forward managed just nine points on three-of-12 shooting. The Knicks also won their first game in San Antonio since April 2003, snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Spurs. Tony Parker led San Antonio with 19 points and 12 assists, while Kawhi Leonard finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Tim Duncan added 14 points and 14 rebounds. “Tony was exhausted, we got tired, but part of it was trying to guard those guys,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. In Denver, the defending champion Miami Heat claimed a rare road win over the Denver Nuggets 98-93 on Thursday despite being without the services of eight-times All-Star Dwayne Wade. The Heat led throughout but needed to survive a late Nuggets rally to claim a first victory in Denver since January 2002. Despite trailing by as many as 19 points on the night, the Nuggets (4-5) were just one behind with 65 seconds remaining but Danilo Gallinari’s wide-open three-point shot fell woefully short. Norris Cole then stuck a dagger in the home fans heart by nailing a triple of his own just 14 seconds later. Wade sat out the contest at the Pepsi Center in Denver after spraining his left foot earlier this week against the Los Angeles Clippers but the Heat overcame his absence to move to 7-3. Three-time league MVP and eight-time All-Star Lebron James took charge for the Heat, leading the team with 27 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists. He was helped by Shane Battier (18 points), Chris Bosh (14) and Mike Miller (12), in what was an impressive team performance. The Heat were on fire from distance, claiming 39 points at 48 percent from outside the three-point arc compared to the Nuggets 18 points at 30 percent.