Carmelo Anthony returns; Inspires New York Knicks to a 112-106 win over Denver Nuggets: NBA Recap
Carmelo Anthony got back in the starting lineup and posted 34 points as New York Knicks topped the Denver Nuggets 112-106 at the Madison Square Garden on Sunday night.
The Knicks coach Mike Woodson was all praise for Anthony.
"Melo's playing at such a high level. There's no question he's one of the MVP candidates in this early season."
Jason Kidd scored 17 points, going 3 of 4 from behind the arc; Tyson Chandler scored a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds while J.R. Smith came off the bench to add 15 points for the Knicks, who improved to a perfect
8-0 record at home.
Ty Lawson was the pick of the Nuggets as he top scored with 23 points and dished out a team high 6 assists. Danilo Gallinari just fell one rebound shy of his double-double with 21 points and 9 rebounds while Andre Iguodala chipped
in with 15 points.
Denver started the game sharply and went up 6-0 en-route to a 11-4 lead. The Knicks took some time to find their rhythm and the Nuggets were up 15-8, before they went for a 7-0 run to tie up the score. The score was tied on 17
and again on 21, before the Nuggets took a 25-23 lead at the end of the period.
The score was tied on 30 early in the second period but a 7 nil spurt by the Knicks made it 37-30. The Nuggets scored 5 straight points to reduce the deficit down to 2 before the Knicks again went for a 5-0 run to muster a 55-49
advantage. This trend continued till the end of the period and the Nuggets were trailing 58-61 at halftime.
Iguodala nailed a three pointer with just 30 seconds into the second half to tie the score but it was countered by a shot from downtown by Anthony as the Knicks went up 64-61. The score was tied on 67 and Kidd shot two from distance
to put the Knicks ahead by two, 72-70. A 5-0 spurt by the Nuggets tied the score on 75 and they scored some baskets late in the period to head into the final quarter leading 84-80.
Denver pushed their lead to 88-80 early in the final period but the Knicks had other plans, they went for a 12-0 run to snatch the lead, 92-88. Anthony nailed a three pointer to push the Knicks up 97-90, which became 104-95 with
3:45 left in the regulation. The Nuggets tried their best and closed the gap down to 104-108 with 1:53 to go into the game, but the Knicks kept their cool and closed the game on 112-106.
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