Carmelo Anthony, on his return after missing two games, scored 34 points to help New York Knicks beat Denver Nuggets 112-106 Sunday night and with it maintain their unbeaten record at home.
Jason Kidd added 17 points, while Tyson Chandler and J.R. Smith had 15 points apiece for the winning side.
Anthony made 10 of 24 from the field, three of them from beyond the three-point line, against his former team.
"I don't have no hard feelings toward Denver. It was just one of them games that no matter how many runs we went on, they just wasn't going anywhere," the Associated Press quoted Anthony as saying.
"It was just a matter of us and me not wanting to lose on our home court, protecting our home court. That's something that we always said and we believed in. So there came a point in time in that fourth quarter where it was called upon me to step up."
Chandler, who grabbed 12 rebounds, said players never stop wanting to beat their old team.
"You always want to show them what they're missing and I think they saw tonight," he said.
For the Nuggets, Ty Lawson was the top scorer with 23 points and six assists, while Danilo Gallinari netted 21 points and chipped in with nine rebounds, with Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer scoring 15 points each.
The Nuggets started off well by scoring 25 in the first quarter, to New York's 23; Anthony was a mere only one of 6 in the opening period. However, the Knicks bounced back behind Anthony, who added 11 points in the second quarter.
Denver again played better in the third quarter, outscoring the Knicks 26 points-19.
The Nuggets were leading in the fourth quarter 88-80. The game changed, when Steve Novak's three-pointer and a Chandler dunk equaled the scores. The Knicks soon took a 97-90 lead with Antony's jumper and a three-point shot. Anthony's two baskets with 2:08 remaining ensured his team's victory.
"Tonight we let one player get hot, Melo, and once he started hitting he was unstoppable," Kenneth Faried said.
Raymond Felton had 4 out of 15 attempts from the field; whereas Smith had just 5 of 19, leaving the Nuggets feeling as if they let one get away. New York shot 12 three-pointers, while Denver had only five.
"I tell the team all the time, I say I don't mind losing to a good team, but we lose because we give them things," Denver coach George Karl said. "We give them gifts."
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