Bernard King said he always knew Carmelo Anthony would smash his 60-point Knicks scoring record once he came to New York. King said he’s “delighted it happened” and sent Anthony a long congratulatory text late Friday night.
On the day after Anthony made history at the Garden with 62 points, setting MSG and team records, King told The Post he hopes the magical evening will convince Anthony to re-sign with the Knicks this summer when he’s a free agent.
King, inducted into the Hall of Fame in September, held the record for nearly 30 years, scoring 60 points on Christmas Day 1984.
“It stood for a long time, and I knew one day Carmelo would break that record,’’ King said by phone from Houston on Saturday. “Carmelo’s just a tremendous offensive force with a tremendous versatile skill set and ability to score in bunches. I’m delighted it was him, knowing he emulated some of his game after me.
“I saw the highlights, and one of my favorite moves he incorporated into his game. So in a very small way I contributed to helping him perform at the highest level. It’s wonderful and very special to me.’’
King, whom Anthony grew up idolizing, said his signature move was holding the ball well over his head in attack mode, causing the defenders to “freeze.’’ He saw Anthony do a lot of that.
“Records are meant to be broken,’’ King said. “And you get to watch a magical performance when it’s broken. It may stand at least 30 years.’’
King, who has gotten to know Anthony and attended his charity event in Puerto Rico last summer, said he has no inside knowledge regarding Anthony’s future. But King thinks Anthony should and will stay.
“He looks around and winning championships, that’s what he desires,’’ King said. “I don’t know if there’s any better place in the NBA than New York. To me, New York is the No. 1 place to play basketball, whether in the Garden or on the playground. I think that will have strong influence on Carmelo’s decision.
“The Garden is magical, like it was [Friday] when he scored 62. It’s where every player would want to play. In my heart of hearts he’ll remain in New York, though I have no privy information.’’
As the game played out, King was on a flight from Atlanta to Houston, where he is attending a memorabilia show. When he landed, his phone was filled with text messages, asking if he was watching the game, informing him of Anthony’s feat.
King has since seen all the highlights, and chuckled that he didn’t even make a 3-pointer in his 60-point game.
“When he hit shot from mid-court, I knew it was over,’’ said the Brooklyn product. “It’s amazing. I watched that shot. It looked like a typical jump shot for him, totally in rhythm.” The distance didn’t matter. The performance was phenomenal, and I look forward to watching the full game tape.’’
Anthony logged 20 points in the first quarter, had 37 at halftime and carried 57 points into the fourth quarter. He departed with 7:19 left.
King spoke to his friend, Knicks assistant Darrell Walker, late Friday night to get the specifics. Then King shot Anthony the text.
“Not verbatim, but I wrote, ‘I am delighted to see you broke the record that stood for so long. I’m very happy for you and happy that it was you. The record deserves to be held by a Knick. You were in a basketball zone, and very few people in the world have ever felt that.’ ”
Sunday, the Knicks face the struggling Lakers — ironically, a team that will pursue Anthony this summer.
King has the distinction of scoring back-to-back 50-point games. He said all Anthony needs to do is score 38 against the Lakers to match his 100 combined, and that would be a nice encore.
“He has a chance,” King said, “because you do carry that rhythm into the next game.”