Knicks win Anthony sweepstakes via three-team trade

photo by Getty Images

It looks like the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics aren't the only big dogs in the Eastern Conference anymore.

According to multiple reports, the New York Knicks acquired Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony in a three-team trade late on Monday night. The other team involved in the trade was the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In the trade, the Knicks not only got one of the best players in the league to pair with fellow All Star Amare Stoudemire, but also experienced point guard Chauncey Billups. Guard Anthony Carter and forwards Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Brewer and Shelden Williams were also shipped to New York, as was a second-round pick from Minnesota.

Denver reportedly received center Timofey Mozgov, forwards Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, point guard Raymond Felton and the Knicks' first-round pick in 2014 and second-round picks in the 2012 and 2013 drafts that originally belonged to the Golden State Warriors.

The Timberwolves got center Eddy Curry, power forward Anthony Randolph and $3 million in the deal.

New York Knicks fans won't have to wait long to see Anthony suited up in their team's colors as he could play as soon as Wednesday night against Milwaukee or Friday versus Cleveland.

Anthony, Stoudemire and the new-look Knicks will then have an opportunity to make even more headlines as they face LeBron James and the rest of the Miami Heat's star-studded cast on Sunday, February 27.

New York won't play Boston until March 31.

Jones wins three-point contest

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Finally, the Heat have beaten the Celtics.

Miami fans now have some ammunition for their trash-talking arsenals as forward James Jones knocked off Boston's duo of Ray Allen and Paul Pierce to win the 2011 three-point competition on Saturday night.

Jones became the latest Heat player to claim that competition by scoring 20 points in the finals, besting Allen's 15 and Pierce's 12. Jones, a University of Miami graduate, joined Jason Kapono, Daequan Cook and Glen Rice as Heat players to win the contest.

Having prepared little for the event in Los Angeles, Jones scored 15 points in the first round before making four out of five shots on every rack in the finals.

Jones' win doesn't affect the league standings, but it will help Heat fans whose psyches have been affected from three losses in three games to Boston this season.

So, for at least one day, Miami fans can thank Jones for being able to say that their team came out on top over Boston's.

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Here is video of the final round of the three-point contest along with a brief interview with Jones following his memorable victory: