Carmelo Anthony couldn’t come through once again in the fourth quarter, but another Syracuse star stepped up when it mattered most.
Playing at Madison Square Garden for the first time since watching his Syracuse squad turn a 16-point lead into a 17-point loss in last year’s Big East Championship against Louisville, 76ers rookie Michael Carter-Williams helped prevent another meltdown after putting up a near-triple-double and sparking Philadelphia late in the 110-106 win over the Knicks Wednesday night.
Though Carter-Williams struggled shooting from the field — 5-of-18 — he finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
“It was really big for us to come back,” said Carter-Williams. “We shared the ball and we hit shots down the stretch. … We have some veterans that have been here six or seven years that have given me some great advice and helped me along.”
Carter-Williams was on the bench early in the fourth quarter when the Knicks had come back from a 10-point deficit and taken the lead early in the fourth quarter, which stretched to six with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Sixers guard Evan Turner carried the scoring load — with a career-high 34 points — but Carter-Williams put the Sixers back in front with a huge 3-pointer with 5:35 remaining, which gave Philadelphia a 93-92 lead it would hold the rest of the game.
In the final 5:35, Carter-Williams did a little bit of everything, scoring six points, and adding three assists, two rebounds and two steals. The favorite for the Rookie of the Year Award’s final steal in the final minute was the most devastating, summing up everything about the Knicks’ season in a single swipe.
Tyson Chandler had grabbed a defensive rebound when the 22-year-old unexpectedly snuck up behind him and snatched the ball, leaving the big man wondering what had happened, and how it could have happened — much like the team’s five-game losing streak.
Anthony, who finished with 28 points on 10-of-23 shooting, was a non-factor in the fourth quarter, hitting only 1-of-5 shots until knocking down two meaningless 3-pointers in the final 13 seconds.
“He played extremely well,” Anthony said of the fellow Syracuse star. “He was very under control. He’s a big guard out there who can see over a lot of guards. He made plays, he almost had a triple-double.”
The Knicks fell into their early hole with Anthony missing his first four shots and scoring only one point in the first quarter — with three assists — but the All-Star emerged in the second and third quarters, hitting 7-of-12 shots to bring the Knicks back.
When the Knicks took their largest lead after a 10-0 run to open the fourth quarter, Anthony was on the bench.
When he returned, he missed his first three shots, committed a technical foul to bring the 76ers within one and then committed a turnover after Carter-Williams’ 3-pointer.
Another opportunity for Anthony and the Knicks, another opportunity lost. And he knows they won’t get much easier than facing the 14-win Sixers on their own floor.
“I won’t say we are kicking ourselves, but we definitely wasted some games we should have won on our home court,” said Anthony. “I don’t know what it is. This is the time we should build some momentum and confidence, but that doesn’t seem to be the case right now.”