CHARLOTTE, N. DeAnthony Melton Jersey .C. - The key to the Arizona Cardinals advancing in the NFC playoffs could come down to their ability to slow down Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in the running game.Arizonas defence has struggled against mobile quarterbacks the past two weeks.Seattles Russell Wilson ran for 88 yards on six carries and San Franciscos Colin Kaepernick had 63 yards on seven rushes to spearhead wins over Arizona. The Cardinals allowed a combined 473 yards rushing in those two losses.Newton is well aware of the opportunity in front of him when the Panthers host the Cardinals on Saturday in an NFC wild-card game.Obviously its something that sticks out, Newton said. I know they will have some wrinkles in for me and hopefully I will be able to dissect them and take what they give me. (But) Im not going to go into this game thinking that Im going to have 200-plus yards in the running game myself, because thats not what its about. Its about being productive and executing the game plan.Carolinas running game has been in high gear in recent weeks, including a 194-yard performance in an NFC South-clinching 34-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Newton accounted for 51 yards rushing and a touchdown.Newton has been an active participant in Carolinas running game in his last four starts, carrying 39 times for 246 yards and three touchdowns.Unfortunately were going against one of those similar offences that weve been having problems with the last few weeks, said Cardinals linebacker Larry Foote. But were comfortable, were used to it.Cardinals coach Bruce Arians called Newton an unbelievable athlete, but is expecting a better effort from his defence this week.Hopefully we have learned something, Arians said. The big thing is cover your guy when you are in blitz. We gave up an easy touchdown and an easy long run in that ball game on mental errors so those two things are easily correctable hopefully.Carolina (7-8-1) is only the second team in NFL history to reach the post-season in a non-strike-shortened season with a losing record. Nonetheless, the Panthers opened as a 4 1/2-point favourite at home in large because Arizonas quarterback situation. The number had climbed to six by Thursday.LINDLEY IN, STANTON OUT: Arians on Thursday declared quarterback Drew Stanton out against the Panthers, meaning Ryan Lindley will get the start. Lindley is 0-2 as Arizonas starter.Lindley, a sixth-round draft pick in 2012, completed 23 of 39 passes for 316 yards and two TDs in a 20-17 loss to San Francisco last week, but was also threw three interceptions. Arians said he has confidence in Lindley but hes still got to protect the ball better.Stanton was 4-2 as Arizonas starter before injuring his knee in Week 15 against St. Louis.TURNING UP THE HEAT: Carolina defensive co-ordinator Sean McDermott is turning up the heat. The Panthers have 17 sacks in the last five games, including six against the Falcons last Sunday. The Panthers are getting a better push from their front seven, led by defensive end Charles Johnson. Hes had a tremendous stretch of four games, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said.LOOSE PANTHERS: Carolinas locker room has been very loose this week with a quiet confidence emitting from the locker room. Rivera said that is because the Panthers are playing with house money after repeating as NFC South champions when it appeared they were out of the running after starting the season 3-8-1. Its not been the season of a prototypical playoff team, but who cares?, Newton said.FITZGERALDS TIME: Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald seems to step up when the playoffs arrive. In six post-season games, Fitzgerald has 42 receptions for 705 yards and nine touchdowns. That includes three 100-yard receiving games, including eight catches for 166 yards and a touchdown in Arizonas 33-13 upset win over Carolina in the 2008 divisional playoffs.KUECHLY FACTOR: Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly leads the league in tackles for the second time in three seasons. Behind Kuechly, the Panthers have gone from 27th in league in overall defence in Week 7 to 10th to finish the season.___AP Sports Writer Bob Baum in Tempe, Arizona contributed to this report. Eric Gordon Rockets Jersey . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Eric Gordon Jersey . HABS HEADED TO CONFERENCE FINAL The Montreal Canadiens scored early in Game Seven, built a lead and protected it well on their way to a 3-1 series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins. While this game or series isnt necessarily a referendum on the value of fourth lines, the Canadiens certainly benefitted from production lower down their forward depth chart. https://www.rocketsrookiesshop.com/Trevon-Duval-City-Edition-Jersey/ . According to a report from ESPN, sources said Manuels college coach Jimbo Fisher told teams he didnt think Manuel had the tools to be an NFL starter.NEW YORK -- Theres little margin for error, and the New York Knicks know it. They need a big finish to the regular season, and after the way theyve started the last two games, maybe they have one in them. Carmelo Anthony scored 18 of his 29 points in the first quarter, sending the Knicks to a rare easy night in a 108-81 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday. With a long way to go to get back into playoff position, the Knicks won their second straight following a seven-game losing streak. They began a favourable portion of their schedule by opening an early double-digit lead and remaining comfortably ahead the rest of the way. They scored 39 points in the first quarter, their best in any period this season, after scoring 38 in the opening 12 minutes at Minnesota on Wednesday. "Last two games is, we had no choice," coach Mike Woodson said. "Time is somewhat running out and every game is important." Anthony added a season-high eight assists while playing just three quarters of a game that wasnt competitive for long after the opening tip. J.R. Smith had 17 points and Tyson Chandler finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who led by as many as 32. "We can either cave in and let teams beat the hell out of us, or we can come out there fighting," Smith said. "Thankfully we are coming out here fighting and it starts on the defensive end." Amare Stoudemire, who has moved into the starting lineup along with Smith, scored 10 for the Knicks. They visit Cleveland on Saturday to play one of the teams in between them and Atlanta, which currently holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York entered play 5 1/2 games behind the Hawks. The losing has wrecked Anthonys hopes of putting off discussion about his free-agency plans until after the season. His brief postgame questions were focused on reports that Chicagos Joakim Noah talked to him about joining the Bulls, and that the Knicks had spoken to Phil Jackson about a role in the organizations management. "Its ggoing to be more stories coming out, more speculation, everybodys going to have their own take on different stories, so for me Ive got to focus on playing ball and thats it," Anthony said. Ryan Anderson Rockets Jersey. He did it well Friday, despite battling a cold. Anthony scored New Yorks final 11 points in the first quarter, with a four-point play and another 3-pointer in the final 38 seconds as the Knicks opened a 39-22 lead on 70 per cent shooting. New York stretched the lead to 21 late in the second quarter and was ahead 60-41 at halftime. New York is 23-40 but still has playoff aspirations due to all the weak competition at the bottom of the East. The Knicks upcoming schedule gives them hope, with games against Philadelphia, Boston and Milwaukee, all among the NBAs worst teams, next week. They had no trouble with the Jazz, another lowly squad that lost to the Knicks for the fifth straight time. Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks each scored 18 for the Jazz, who dropped their fifth straight and fell to 0-5 on their six-game, nine-day trip that ends Saturday in Philadelphia. "I thought for two or three months weve played pretty steady basketball, right around .500 basketball. For us that was a step in the right direction," forward Richard Jefferson said. "Now were at the end of the season, youve got a lot of guys playing minutes that theyve never played before. We can see fatigue, frustration. A lot of things are coming into play, but youve got to stick with it." NOTES: The Knicks will take part in a news conference Monday at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y., with county and NBA Development League officials to discuss their plans to bring a franchise to Westchester. ... Blown out in Chicago on ABC last Sunday, the Knicks had their April 13 rematch with the Bulls in New York booted off the network Friday. It will become a 7:30 p.m. start with no national TV coverage, while Oklahoma City at Indiana was moved to the 1 p.m. spot. ... Utahs trip is the longest by days since early in the 2003-04 season. ' ' '