Carmelo Anthony leads as New York Knicks win 2nd straight, 120-116 vs. New Jersey Nets
NBA: New York Knicks are back and why wouldn’t they be when Carmelo Anthony scores 39 points and 10 rebounds for the second straight night? It was tough a game for the New Jersey Nets who lost fourth straight and could not overcome a secondhalf assault,
that resulted in a 120-116 loss Wednesday night at the Madison Square Garden.
Melo scored 20 of his total 39 in the third round of the game knocking off the Nets who fought very hard to win the game.
The Knicks went up after the halftime before which they were faltering by as much as 10 points. Anthony Morrow sealed 30 points going a whopping 4 for 5 from the three-pointer zone and grabbing five rebounds in more than 38 minutes in the loss. Williams
returned after resting his wrist and contributed 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the game that turned upside down for the Nets after the break.
A commendable performance by Knicks’ starters added spark to the game that was as crucial for New York as it was for New Jersey. The Knicks opening squad put forward their best efforts and had 103 points collectively. On the other hand, the Nets were equally
good with a contribution of 97 points from the starters.
It was those 20 third quarter points that gave Knicks an edge over the Nets. The Nets who had entered the third with a 10 point lead over the opposition saw their lead being cut down by Anthony. It was Melo again who fired up with a pullup to break the tie
late in the fourth quarter to snatch the game out of Nets’ hands, once and forever.
In the win, Chauncey Billups scored 33 points, grabbed six boards and pulled out six dimes in the big win, going a perfect 10 for 10 from the foul line. Amar’e Stoudemire pinned 23 points to finish with a 10 for 15 shooting from the field.
Mike D’Antoni who had been suffering a lot the previous days was seen laughing after the game. When asked if Melo, Billups and STAT producing 95 points together was a positive thing for the Knicks, the happy coach said, "If I'm one of the Big Three, it is.
The other guys would like to participate."
The new acquisition Williams was back to the court after missing six straight games with an injured wrist. The player did not show any signs of that in his game but ironically he dropped a few shots in the final moments that could have tied the game.
Anthony is being the mercurial All-Star forward the Knicks had acquired. Proving that he can do anything, the 26-year-old set the game on fire. He was once again the life saver, the Knicks looked on to in the third quarter. The player has averaged 32.6 points
in the previous three games and his second straight 30-10 got the game going for his team. Like the Orlando Magic game, he called this game a “must win” as well and he won it for them.
Later when asked about how important the game was both the teams, Billups said, "This was a big game for us. We've got a lot to lose, they don't. They just looked like they wanted it more than we did and we talked about that. We came out immediately in the
second half and just kind of turned the tide, momentum kind of went our way."
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