By the fourth quarter, the rust was off. When Carmelo Anthony reentered with 7:38 left and the Knicks up three, he closed in a big way and secured a gratifying 112-106 victory on George Karl’s Nuggets at the Garden.
Returning from a two-game absence with a cut middle finger that was bandaged, Anthony, after missing his first five shots, dropped 34 points on his former club and kept the Knicks as the NBA’s only unbeaten team at home at 8-0. They moved to an Eastern Conference best 15-5 and face the slumping Brooklyn Nets tomorrow across the Manhattan Bridge.
“I was always planning on coming back [for Denver],’’ Anthony said. “The doctors and I talked about it. It was a matter of me being comfortable out there and being able to handle and tolerate the pain. As the game went on, I started feeling more comfortable. It was a matter of getting a feel for the ball.’’
The usually stoic Mike Woodson looked happier than Anthony afterward, clapping furiously at the final buzzer, shaking his fists. This bounce-back win after Saturday’s Chicago debacle meant a lot to the coach, who said he showed emotion because of the proud way the Knicks battled after arriving back from Chicago at 5 a.m. yesterday. Their flight experienced major fog delays and they had to circle for close to two hours and was forced to land in Newark instead of Westchester. The players didn’t get to their homes until 6 a.m.
“I didn’t get much sleep; they didn’t get a lot of sleep either,’’ Woodson said. “For them to respond like they did, it was very nice to see.’’
This also was another vintage night for Jason Kidd, who ran the point instead of Raymond Felton in the fourth quarter. He survived a Ty Lawson elbow to the head that caused a welt and still finished with 17 points and seven assists, making sure to ride the club to safety in the end. Comically, Kidd wore a hockey helmet coming out for second-half warm-ups, joking afterward they are not exactly being used right now, referencing the NHL lockout.
“He had an unbelievable night,’’ Tyson Chandler said. “We all got in our beds at 6 a.m. after a back to back. A guy like J-Kidd still has the fire in his eyes to close out a game like this.”
But Anthony stole the show in the end, outplaying ex-Knick Danilo Gallinari, with a punch-out, 11-point fourth quarter in which he made 5 of 7 shots. Anthony denied any extra motivation against his club of 7 1/2 seasons but is definitely looking forward to the March trip to the Rocky Mountains.
“I don’t have hard feelings toward Denver,’’ Anthony said. “It was a matter of not wanting to lose on our home court and protecting it. It is another game on my schedule this season we definitely want to win. The emotion is gone.’’
Woodson called Anthony an MVP candidate after the game. The forward said he needed time to “adjust’’ to the finger that still has five stitches in it.
“Melo is playing at such a high level,’’ Woodson said. ‘There is no question he is one of the MVP candidates. His teammates rely on him and he is relying on guys around him to help him. That is the beauty of our team right now.’’
The Knicks didn’t pull away until the fourth quarter and trailed by 8 with 11:13 left. Chandler feared fatigue would be a factor because of the flight delay.
“Everybody came in here [before the game] kind of like zombies,’’’ Chandler said.
The Knicks fell behind 88-80 early in the fourth quarter. With Anthony on the bench, the Knicks roared back. Steve Novak had taken one 3-point shot through three quarters. Then he heated up. Novak hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Chandler scored on a put-back dunk and the Knicks tied the game at 88 with 9:30 left.
Anthony, who had four fouls and picked up a technical late in the third quarter after arguing his foul on Gallinari, returned with 7:30 left. He hit two straight buckets, including a big 3-pointer after excellent around-the-horn ball movement, sending the club ahead 97-90. Anthony backed in Gallinari and fed out to J.R. Smith, who drained a 3-pointer to put the Knicks up 104-95.
Anthony’s best hustle play came when he tipped in the missed free throw by Smith one minute later, keeping the lead at nine. He hit on another driving bucket to cap off a great finish.
“He hit those two tough shots and it’s the difference,’’ Novak said. “He misses one of those two, who knows what happens. When it comes to 1-on-1 basketball, he’s the best in the league.’’
Anthony finished 10 of 24 after his shaky start and made just 11 of 16 free throws. He also had six rebounds and two steals as Denver fell to 10-11.
“It never gets old,’’ Chandler said of beating a former club. “You always want to show them what they’re missing.’’