Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks Handle The Denver Nuggets At The Garden, 117-90
By Andrew Dill
Feb 7, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson (3) guards New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. The New York Knicks won the game 117-90. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Chandlers Return To The Garden Ends Up In A Loss
The Denver Nuggets (24-24) played well in the first quarter outscoring the New York Knicks 26-20 and looked on their way to victory. But turnovers and sloppy play let the Knicks hang around and eventually defeat the Denver Nuggets by the final score of 117-90. Former Nugget Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting, knocking down 4-of-9 shots from distance. On the losing end of things, Ty Lawson scored a team-high 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting, with 7 assists and 1 steal.
The theme tonight for the Denver Nuggets was turnovers. They coughed up the ball 15 times in the first half to have the Knicks end the second quarter on a 9-0 run. For the remainder of the game, they coughed it up 8 more times as power forward Kenneth Faried would account for 5 of those turnovers. According to ESPN, Kenneth Faried was the least efficient player out on the court tonight with a plus/minus rating of -28 as he finished the game with 12 points and 5 turnovers.
Wilson Chandler started the game off hot for the Nuggets but cooled off in the second half. In his first game back at Madison Square Garden since the New York Knicks sent him in a package deal for Carmelo Anthony, Chandler scored 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting while pulling down 7 rebounds and 2 steals.
The Denver Nuggets couldn’t contain Amar’e Stoudemire off the bench and that’s what you have to deal with Kenneth Faried. Amar’e scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 8 rebounds. Another former Nugget in J.R. Smith would score 13 points off of the bench on 5-of-12 shooting.
J.J. Hickson has one of his worst games of the 2013-14′ season tonight as he appeared in 27 minutes scoring just 3 points on 1-of-4 shooting. The power forward would hit just one of his four free-throw attempts while collecting 6 rebounds and 1 steal.
The Denver Nuggets (24-24) continue their road-trip as they face the Detroit Pistons tomorrow at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET, 5:30 PM MT.