MAYS LANDING, N.J. - Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has received initial approval to enter a court program that could result in dismissal of an assault charge against him in New Jersey. The decision announced Tuesday relates to an aggravated assault charge Rice faces following a Feb. 15 incident with his then-girlfriend in an Atlantic City casino elevator. The couple married a day after Rice was indicted. Atlantic County acting prosecutor Jim McClain said the decision was made after his office "considered all relevant information." The pretrial intervention program allows for charges to be dismissed against first-time offenders who participate in it and meet certain conditions. A judge must give final approval before Rice can enter the program. If convicted of the charge, Rice could face three to five years in prison. Originally, Rice and his then-girlfriend, Janay Palmer, were each charged with simple assault after authorities said he assaulted her at the Revel Casino. 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Fourcade was 1.2 seconds back in second place to reclaim the overall World Cup lead, with Eder another 0.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Carmelo Anthony became the 40th player in NBA history to score 20,000 points, leading the New York Knicks to a 96-93 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Anthony, who entered the game just three points shy of the 20,000-point plateau, finished with 28 and hit the eventual game-winner for New York, which has won two straight since a 24-point loss to Chicago in its season opener. Amare Stoudemire contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Iman Shumpert added 15 points in the win. Al Jefferson paced the Hornets with 21 points, while Kemba Walker tallied 16 points and Lance Stephenson nearly deposited a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Gary Neal and Walker scored on back-to-back possessions late in the fourth to give the Hornets a 93-90 lead. Pablo Prigioni then drove the lane on the Knicks ensuing touch and kicked it over to Shumpert, who nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game. Following a miss from Walker at the other end, Anthony drilled a contested jumper from the elbow to give New York the lead for good with 1:24 remaining. Neither team came up with points on their respective possessions with under a minute to go. Stephenson then turned the ball over on a pivotal five- second violation inbounding at half court. I dont think it was a five second, more like three, Stephenson said. Shumpert missed a deep jumper following a timeout and Charlotte had a chance to tie with 16.6 seconds left. Walker drove the lane, pumped to get Prigioni in the air, but his jumper was long. Anthony corralled the miss and split a pair of free throows and Charlotte didnt get a shot off before the buzzer.dddddddddddd Its a work in progress defensively, Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. Theyre effort in just trying to do what were asking them defensively is really high. Were still making it hard for teams to score in a lot of situations and its good to see. Anthony opened the game with a jumper, then made history as the sixth-youngest player to reach 20,000 points with a 3-pointer minutes later. The trey from Anthony was a part of a 15-5 run to open the game, and the Knicks lead was as high as 12 in the quarter before Charlotte trimmed the deficit to 29-21 heading into the second. New York slowly built its lead to a game-high 15 in the second, but the Hornets used a 20-7 run over the final 4:23 to trail 52-50 at the break. As the shot clock was set to expire late in the third, Anthony rose up and canned a deep 3-pointer just inside the Knicks logo at center court to tie the game at 69-69. The game went back and forth over the final minutes of the quarter, with Charlotte taking an 80-79 lead into the fourth. Game Notes Charlotte is 6-22 at Madison Square Garden since 1997-98 ... Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist went up for a defensive rebound early in the first, collided with Shane Larkin and slammed to the floor, grasping at his right shoulder as Charlottes medical team ran onto the court. He shook off the fall at first, but later would leave the game and not return ... The largest lead in the second half for both teams was three ... There were 22 lead changes and 10 ties. ' ' '