New York, NY – Carmelo Anthony netted 27 points to lead the New York Knicks past the Philadelphia 76ers, 100-84, in the opener of a home- and-home set at Madison Square Garden.
J.R. Smith added 20 points and nine rebounds, while Jason Kidd had 12 points and Raymond Felton contributed 11 for the Knicks, who are 2-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
"Not a lot of people are talking about the Knicks being one of those elite teams in the NBA, but I think before it's over with they will be," Felton said.
Jrue Holiday paced the 76ers with 27 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3- point range. He also had seven assists.
Thaddeus Young finished with 16 points and Evan Turner had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, which was coming off a season-opening win over Denver on Wednesday.
"I think the layoff hurt us a little bit. We didn't adjust to the speed of the game or the physicality of the game early," Sixers coach Doug Collins said.
The teams traded baskets over the opening minutes of action until an Anthony layup sparked a 14-7 run by the Knicks to go on top, 19-12, near the midpoint of the first quarter.
Four straight points by Spencer Hawes brought the Sixers back within three, but they would get no closer than that and trailed, 31-25, at the end of the first.
New York stretched its lead to double digits early in the second quarter when a Ronnie Brewer jumper gave the Knicks a 39-29 advantage less than three minutes into the frame.
Philadelphia responded with a 10-5 spurt to close the gap to 44-39 before the Knicks countered with a 13-5 run to carry a 57-44 lead into the break.
The Sixers would not threaten in the second half as New York slowly pulled away.
Philadelphia managed to cut its deficit to eight points on two separate occasions in the third quarter, but New York answered with a basket on the other end each time and the Knicks took a 75-66 advantage into the fourth.
Smith then opened the final frame with back-to-back 3-pointers to start an 11-3 swing that pushed the Knicks' lead to a game-high 17 points and New York held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest.
Game Notes
Sixers guard Jason Richardson sprained his left ankle early in the first quarter and did not return ... New York scored 20 points off 18 Philadelphia turnovers, while the Sixers netted 14 points off 15 takeaways ... The Knicks connected on 51 percent of their shots from the floor ... Philadelphia was held to just 43 percent shooting but shot 47 percent from beyond the arc.
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