Jeff Hornacek finally made the move that was necessary. He put Carmelo Anthony at power forward and it allowed the New York Knicks to flourish.
- New York Knicks 93 (4-6)
- Dallas Mavericks 77 (2-7)
- NBA, Final, Box Score
- Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
So this is what happens when Carmelo Anthony plays power forward, his more natural position at age 32.
After falling behind by 10 in the early going, Jeff Hornacek made a huge adjustment to start the second-half. He benched Joakim Noah and started Justin Holiday. This put Kristaps Porzingis at the five and Melo at the four.
It worked flawlessly.
Anthony found incredible room offensively to do his thing while the Knickerbockers actually looked like a solid defensive unit. The lineup wasn’t slow — as it usually is when the regular starting five.
New York outscored Dallas 31-12 in the third quarter en route to the impressive 93-77 victory.
Melo finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Much of his damage was done in that third quarter with the small lineup. After being benched in favor of Holiday, Noah did not return to the game.
Porzingis also finished with 24 on 8-16 from the floor. He added 11 rebounds and this beautiful crossover:
For the Mavs, Harrison Barnes led the way with 20 points.
New York moves to 4-6 on the season in this, by far, their best defensive effort of the season. Considering Dirk Nowitzki did not play, it’ll be met with tempered enthusiasm.
Next up will be the Detroit Pistons at The Garden on Wednesday night.