NBA

Anthony, Nuggets win Wild West shootout against Knicks

DENVER — Forty years ago today, the 1969-70 Knicks won their then NBA record 18th straight game to move their record to 23-1.

The only streak the current-era Knicks do now are moral victories. And they posted a doozy last night in going toe-to-toe with the powerhouse Nuggets to the final buzzer in a Wild West shootout, losing 128-125 amidst a controversial ending at Pepsi Center.

Though Al Harrington had a monster night with 41 points in 38 minutes, the Knicks were unable to withstand Carmelo Anthony’s barrage. Anthony, a free agent in 2011 when the Knicks could still have cap space, struck for a career-high 50 points.

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The Knicks fell to 3-13, losing their fourth straight and concluding a Western swing at 0-3.

It appeared Anthony had iced the game with two free throws with 17 seconds left to give him 50 and put the Nuggets up 4. But the Knicks kept coming. Harrington scored on a finger roll before J.R. Smith hit 1 of 2 free throws, putting the Knicks down 3 with 4.4 seconds left.

Inbounding from the backcourt, Larry Hughes finally got it deep on the right wing and had it stripped by Chauncey Billups as he went to launch a 3-pointer. Nevertheless, Hughes claimed the referee raised his hand to signal for a foul. After much confusion, the referees reviewed the play and ruled instead Hughes was out of bounds.

The Knicks’ coaching staff was hot afterward and Hughes mystified. Coach Mike D’Antoni said he thought a foul occurred before the buzzer.

“I got fouled,” Hughes said. “I saw the ref blow the whistle and raise his hand. I figured it was a foul. I thought they were reviewing whether it was a 2-pointer or 3-pointer. Then they said it was no foul.”

Their defense fell to pieces after D’Antoni, ironically, lectured writers on their recent defensive improvement statistically. They allowed Denver to shoot 53.6 percent, but give them this: they fought like heck.

“It couldn’t came at a better time,” said Anthony, who was 17 of 28 and 15 of 16 from the free throw line. “We only won by 3. They wouldn’t go away.”

Harrington went mano-a-mano with Anthony.

“He’s got the whole package,” said Harrington, who also had 10 boards and two blocks. “I thought I did a pretty good job. If I didn’t, he would’ve gotten 70.”

At the least, the Knicks weren’t blown away as they were in the first two games of their Western trip, when they shot 38 percent in blowout losses to the Lakers and Kings.

“We played really well. We really competed,” D’Antoni said. “We can build on this.”

The Knicks made 49 percent of their shots. David Lee scored 23 and Wilson Chandler had a big fourth quarter, finishing with 12.

Struggling point guard Chris Duhon, despite playing with an ankle he twisted after crashing to the court at the halftime buzzer, had a nice bounce-back game, hitting 3-of-8 3-pointers and finishing with 12 points and six assists.

“That team is dangerous,” Chauncey Billups said. “They kept us off balance.”

The Knicks, who made 13 of 31 3-pointers, took a 111-110 lead with 3:35 left when Lee dunked off a pick-and-roll with Hughes. But the Nuggets scored five in a row, with Smith hitting his third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter. Smith scored 12 fourth-quarter points as the Knicks relaxed on him to double Anthony.

The Knicks were within 119-117 but Anthony hit two free throws with 1:08 left. Duhon, who improved over his prior dreadful efforts, missed a key trey with 45 seconds left.

D’Antoni stuck with the same starting lineup, deciding against starting Nate Robinson, feeling he is excelling in his sixth-man role and didn’t want to disrupt him.

But despite steady double-teams, Anthony rolled through the night and the focus on him led to points for others. In the third quarter, Anthony had his driving shot blocked by Harrington but got it back. Instead of forcing it, he found Chris Anderson cutting underneath for a layup and well-earned “Melo” assist.