ATLANTA – Carmelo Anthony survived the shooting derby and Amar’e Stoudemire was involved on the game-winning defensive play at the buzzer as the Knicks survived a wild 113-112 Philips Arena matinee thriller Sunday afternoon.
Anthony racked up 39 points and hit what turned into the game-winning bucket with 1:40 left that put them up 113-112.
It would come down to one last play with the Hawks inbounding with 3.7 seconds left, still down by the same score. Marvin Williams, at the top of the key, spun on Stoudemire, drove down the lane and went up for a potential game-winning dunk that missed, with Stoudemire guarding him all the way and leaping up to partially block it at the rim. The referees ultimately ruled the dunk wouldn’t have counted anyway as it came .1 seconds late.
The victory kept the Knicks in seventh place and kept their slim hopes alive of moving into the sixth seed.
Anthony and Stoudemire combined for 61 points. Stoudemire, in his second game, got better and better as the game went along and finished with 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting. Landry Fields added 18 points on 7 of 8 shooting.
“Amar’e was phenomenal,” Anthony said. “The way we played off each other. When he had it, he had it. When I had it, I had it.”
It was a game filled with angry words and physical play but ultimately no defense until the final 1:30. The Knicks missed Tyson Chandler, who sat out to rest for the playoffs. The Knicks allowed the Hawks to shoot 53.2 percent, but countered with 54.4 percent.
“It just shows how valuable Tyson Chandler is when he’s out of the game,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. ” He plugs holes when there are breakdowns.’’
Joe Johnson drilled a 3-pointer with 1:52 left to give the Hawks a 112-11 lead. But Anthony fired right back, hitting from the right wing with his foot on the 3-point line, counting as a two-point bucket to give the Knicks the lead for good. Anthony shot 14 of 32 from the field and had 10 rebounds after his 12-point dud in Stoudemire’s debut Friday in a loss to the Cavaliers.
“It’s just not getting back on defense. Joe hit the three towards the end. That’s a made basket and we didn’t get back and match up on Melo,’’ Hawks coach Larry Drew said of the game-winner.
Knicks entered the fourth quarter 10 of 14 from 3-point land. Stoudemire started the fourth by dunking off a pick-and-roll with Davis, then shaking his head at the crowd for a 96-93 lead. He scored again on a baseline drive on the next possession, giving him 20 points.
But the Hawks responded and regained the lead by 4 until Stoudemire raged to the hole for a power dunk and J.R. Smith and Baron Davis sank back-to-back 3s for a 106-102 lead. Davis finished with 13 points and 10 assists.
“This was an old-school shootout. The offense was great. It was an offensive battle,” Woodson said. “I’d like to see some defense but tonight guys had fun shooting the basketball up and down the court. It’s fun for the fans but we have to defend better.”
Things got feisty between Anthony and Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague. After one of Teague’s driving layups, Anthony went into his face to say some words. Two players later, Anthony levied a hard foul on Teague.
The Knicks rallied late in the third from a six-point deficit to take a 94-93 lead into the fourth after Anthony drew a foul on Teague on a jumper with 11.4 seconds left. Anthony made both free throws to give him 32 entering the final session. Teague finished with 23 points.
Anthony missed his first three shots, including two easy layups, before coming on like a gangbuster and reaching 20 points by halftime. But the Knicks trailed 65-60 in a Hotlanta shootout.
“It was going back and forth,” Anthony said. “We allowed too many points in that first half. Then we look up and we got 60 points. So we had to make some stops.’’
There was no deferring to Stoudemire on this night for Anthony. He took 12 shots in the first quarter alone. He launched 17 by halftime, making eight. Clearly he was out to prove Stoudemire will not continue to affect his ability to be the No. 1 guy as it looked in Friday’s detached performance.
In his second game back, Stoudemire was plagued by foul trouble in the first half, picking up two in the first six minutes and a third midway through the second period on an offensive foul. He scored 11 points in the half, 4 of 5 from the field, but also had four turnovers with rust still evident. He also struggled on defense for the second straight game.
Stoudemire started at center in Chandler’s absence, moving from power forward. With Stoudemire in foul trouble, the Knicks were so desperate Woodson went with an ultra small lineup featuring five swingmen.
Johnson had a throwback half, going 5 of 5 and finishing with 22, and Williams burned them for a team-high 29 points making 10 of 14 shots. And Teague was terrific in scoring 13 points with three assists. During one juncture, he so frustrated Baron Davis after stripping him that Davis yanked him down by his jersey, drawing a flagrant foul.
Davis made his return from a two-game absence from a stomach virus and ran the offense well. He hit 3 of his 4 shots in the half as the Knicks shot 60 percent in the half.
On the game’s first possession, Stoudemire pulled down an offensive rebound after Anthony blew a layup, went up strong for a layup and foul. He completed the 3-point play and his day was off to a good start.
But Stoudemire had two turnovers in the quarter, including a lob inside that he fumbled out of bounds. On the ensuing possession, he fouled a driving Williams to create a 3-point play and went to the bench with two fouls midway through the second – same as Friday.