New York, NY – Carmelo Anthony had an off night for New York. Unfortunately for the Kings, the rest of the Knicks did not.
After New York started 0-for-9 from 3-point range, Anthony's supporting cast netted nine of their next 12 from long distance during a sensational 46-7 burst, as the Knicks ran away with a 120-81 victory in an annihilation of the Sacramento Kings.
Anthony finished with just nine points as his streak of scoring at least 20 came to an end at 31 games. However, Amare Stoudemire and J.R. Smith picked up the slack, as Stoudemire shot a perfect 10-for-10 in scoring 21 points, while Smith led the Knicks' 3-point shooting with seven makes from beyond the arc.
"For a lot of stars, it would be hard for a lot of us to accept the role of coming off the bench," said Stoudemire, who has dominated in recent games. "But for myself, its simply about winning, that's the ultimate goal for myself, for us to win."
Steve Novak also thrived in converting 5-of-7 from long distance as New York made 19-of-43 from 3-point range and shot 54.7 percent from the field overall for the night. Tyson Chandler recorded his second consecutive 20- rebound game, while also scoring 11 points in the victory.
DeMarcus Cousins was the lone bright spot in the Kings' worst loss of the season, scoring 25 points. They were outscored 72-30 over the second and third quarters in dropping their third straight and seventh in eight games.
"We'll move on, it will just be an L in the column," said Kings coach Keith Smart. "Regardless of how it looked out there, its going to be an L and we move and get ready for our next ball game."
The Knicks managed just four points through the first 6 1/2 minutes and would trail by as many as 12 in the first, but Stoudemire jolted the offense immediately upon his entrance off the bench.
He threw down a one-handed slam on a fastbreak before finishing a three-point play on the Knicks' following possession. Raymond Felton, Stoudemire and Chandler then all added scores on layups to bring the Knicks within one before a New York 3-point barrage put them in complete control.
Smith got it started with back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to end the first and send the Knicks into the second with a 25-22 lead.
Novak then led a 19-0 surge to start the second by draining a trio of triples, his last pushing New York's advantage to 22 to complete an incredible 34-point swing. Iman Shumpert and Pablo Prigioni also got in on the action before Novak hit another one from deep later in the session.
The Knicks went into halftime with a 23-point lead before Smith helped double their advantage with his fifth triple of the third quarter. New York's greatest lead came at 110-60 following back-to-back jumpers from 40-year- old Kurt Thomas, who also buried a triple before it was over.
Game Notes
The Knicks moved to 15 games above .500 for the first time since April 13, 2001 ... With a Miami Heat loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, the Knicks will have the best record in the Eastern Conference, giving New York's Mike Woodson the head coaching responsibilities for the All-Star game ... The children's choir from Newtown, CT sang the National Anthem during pre-game ... The Kings shot 42.1 percent (32-for-76) and committed 19 turnovers, which the Knicks converted into 22 points.
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