New York, NY – New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant have been named the NBA's top players for games played through April 14.
Anthony picked up the Eastern Conference award for the second straight week. He led the conference in scoring, averaging 32.0 points, and added 11.5 rebounds to help the Knicks to a 3-1 week.
New York captured the Atlantic Division title and earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with Anthony's help. He extended a streak of 30-plus points to seven games before having it snapped on Sunday, but is still vying for the scoring title.
Bryant picked up the Western Conference honor in a week that ended with surgery for a torn Achilles tendon on Saturday. The Lakers were 4-0 last week, winning each of the three games Bryant played.
In trying to will Los Angeles into the playoffs, Bryant averaged 37.0 points and added 6.3 rebounds with 5.0 assists. He'll finish the 2012-13 campaign with averages of 27.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.6 rebounds.
Other nominees were Atlanta's Josh Smith, Brooklyn's Deron Williams, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, Detroit's Andre Drummond, Houston's James Harden, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Toronto's DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay, and Utah's Al Jefferson.
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