Carmelo Anthony has another excellent all-around game as the New York Knicks dominate the lowly Phoenix Suns.
New York Knicks 102 (23-26)
Phoenix Suns 84 (14-34)
Full Game Box Score
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
By Chip Murphy
The New York Knicks and the Phoenix Suns are on completely different paths, with New York slowly rising and Phoenix quickly crumbling.
The Knicks were in the middle of an unfortunate four-game losing streak but the Suns have been watching their franchise slowly fall apart as they had dropped 13 in a row.
Tonight the Knicks got a much needed win to snap that streak on the shoulders of Carmelo Anthony while Phoenix continued to fall further into NBA oblivion.
Welcome back fellas. @carmeloanthony: 19pts, 10rebs, 8asts@kporzee: 7pts, 7rebs pic.twitter.com/7BimVM9sIH
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 30, 2016
Anthony’s shot was off tonight — just 5 of 14 from the field — but he managed to contribute in other ways while Kristaps Porzingis was still clearly limited by the effects of his upper respiratory illness.
The recently elected All-Star once again showcased his vast array of talents, coming just two assists shy of a triple-double.
The Knicks jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter thanks to Arron Afflalo’s 12 points. After this initial outburst the home team didn’t look back, facing challenge for the rest of the game.
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Anthony has always been one of the league’s best rebounding forwards but this season he’s rededicated himself to passing the basketball.
Anthony is still making passes that he never would have made previously in his Knicks’ career, showing a tremendous confidence in his teammates that he hasn’t demonstrated since his arrival.
Porzingis was limited to 23 minutes tonight, telling the NY Post’s Marc Berman about the illness that kept him out of Thursday’s game against Toronto, “I was still feeling it. It was hard to breathe. My body wasn’t 100 percent yet.”
The Knicks hope that their superstar rookie will be ready to go on Sunday when Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors invade Madison Square Garden.
Oh, just another @kporzee putback…NYK 74 PHX 53 3Q #NYKvsPHX pic.twitter.com/Vwf2GjShe8
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 30, 2016
The defending champions are 42-4, with the league’s best offense that blows teams away by an average of 12.70 points. New York will have their hands full healthy or not, but they hope to have their team at 100 percent on Sunday.
One other event of note from tonight’s game was the NBA debut of Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
He scored his first NBA points on a layup with under two minutes left, and was given a shout-out by his brother Giannis of the Milwaukee Bucks on Instagram.
Welcome to the @NBA, @Thanasis_ante43. #Knicks pic.twitter.com/D2fiR3lZWa
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 30, 2016
