Carmelo Anthony saw his string of 20-point games snapped at a Knick-record 31 straight on Saturday, scoring just nine points. He had that after less than 10 minutes last night, rolling to a game-high 27points and leading the Knicks to yet another blowout win, this one a 99-85 rout of the Pistons at the Garden.
It was that kind of day for Anthony, who watched his beloved Ravens get what he so desperately wants — a championship — on Sunday, then got to savor Tyson Chandler paying off their wager by donning a Baltimore cap after the Knicks’ laugher.
“It made my day. You just don’t know; that made my day,’’ Anthony said with a megawatt smile. “It was a good day. It was just a coincidence that he had three games with 20 rebounds. Now that picture will be everywhere.’’
Oh, it was a good day all right. Anthony hit 10 of 17 shots, added seven rebounds and three assists, inspired by watching the Ravens’ Super Bowl win.
“I was reflecting on it, just sitting thinking about it,’’ said Anthony. “That’s got to be a great feeling. I’ve been in situations like that before [at Syracuse], but on this level, it’s definitely exciting.’’
Anthony also helped the Knicks avoid their recent habit of starting slowly, and wouldn’t let them fall into a trap, coming off a 41-point emasculation of Sacramento and facing lowly Detroit two days later.
“We talked about it,’’ said Anthony. “We talked about not letting this game slip away, and just maintain the focus and keep momentum going. We stepped up to that challenge.’’
Anthony also served the role as playmaker, not always getting the assist but often abusing Kyle Singler and then making the pass that led to the assist. He had a hand in 13 of their first 15 points — his 3-pointer off a Raymond Felton pass putting them up 15-6 — and got them off to a quick start. When the Pistons tried putting the bigger, slower Jason Maxiell on him, they fared no better.
“I was just trying to be aggressive from the jump,’’ said Anthony. “I knew this was one of the games that could easily slip away from us. Detroit wasn’t going to quit. I just wanted to be aggressive from the jump, make plays and make things happen.’’
Said Felton: “It always helps when you got your main scorer get off to a great start like that, we get off a big run and take the fight out of a team like that.’’