Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks rediscover groove, get ‘back on track’

"At that big moment, they needed him to step up and he did. It’s a credit to Carmelo.," said Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer of Anthony after New York's 95-91 win on Wednesday night.

Carmelo Anthony led New York with 25 points on Wednesday night. Erik S Lesser / EPA
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ATLANTA, Georgia // The New York Knicks came away with a win on Wednesday, with at least some comfort in knowing they have probably put their worst behind them.

Carmelo Anthony continued his success against Atlanta by scoring 25 points and New York regrouped after blowing a 17-point lead – in their first game after a huge defeat to San Antonio – to beat the Hawks 95-91 on Wednesday night.

It was an important win for the Knicks, who were coming off a tough-to-beat 120-89 loss to the Spurs on Sunday.

“Oh, man, it was a great way to kind of get back on track,” Anthony said. “Any time you can win on the road, that’s always a big win.”

Anthony averaged 41 points against the Hawks in two games last season, bringing his career average against Atlanta to 26.9.

JR Smith, last season’s Sixth Man of the Year, made his first start since March 9, 2012, at Milwaukee. He came off the bench in each of his 80 games last season.

Smith was suspended the first five games this season for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program. Coach Mike Woodson said before the game he started Smith instead of Pablo Prigioni to “see if we can get off to a better start.”

Smith did his part, making three of four 3-pointers in the opening period as the Knicks took a 29-24 lead. Prigioni started the second quarter and followed Smith’s lead, sinking a 3-pointer to give the Knicks their first double-digit lead at 36-26.

Smith finished with 12 points in only his second game of the season after offseason knee surgery.

“I kind of went over my limit with him,” Woodson said. “He played 32 minutes and I didn’t want to go over 30. But it’s tough when you’re trying to win games and you’re turning to your trainer and asking how many minutes he’s on the floor. It makes it a little tough.”

The Knicks committed only six turnovers. The Hawks had 15, including four by rookie point guard Dennis Schroder in less than 9 minutes.

New York outscored Atlanta 30-23 in the final period.

“Much better effort than we put forth in that San Antonio game,” Anthony said. “I’m glad to see that we responded in that fashion and put that game behind us.”

The Knicks, relying on 3-pointers, led 47-30 in the second period and 55-45 at halftime. New York made only 5 of 25 shots from the field while being outscored 23-10 in the third period, leaving the Hawks with a 68-65 lead.

“We took some quick shots,” Anthony said. “I took some quick shots. We just had to settle down and get our composure back, get our momentum back and go from there.”

Anthony made 9 of 25 shots from the field.

“He’s a heck of a player,” said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer.

“I feel like a lot of the night we made Carmelo work for his shots, but because he’s a great player he was able to make some of those tough shots. At that big moment, they needed him to step up and he did. It’s a credit to Carmelo.”

Bargnani had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and rookie Tim Hardaway Jr had 14 points for New York.

Jeff Teague led Atlanta with 25 points and eight assists. Al Horford had 23 points.

OTHER WEDNESDAY RESULTS

Spurs 92, Wizards 79

Point guard Tony Parker scored 16 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to their sixth consecutive win, an easy one over the Washington Wizards.

The Spurs (8-1) had six players score in double-digits.

Forward Tim Duncan, who was held out of Monday’s game in Philadelphia, returned to the lineup but struggled. He scored two points on 1-of-12 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds.

Forward Martell Webster led Washington (2-6) with 21 points.

76ers 123, Rockets 117 (OT)

Swingman James Anderson scored a career-high 36 points, and a dunk by center Spencer Hawes with 34.9 seconds left in overtime put the Philadelphia 76ers ahead to beat the Houston Rockets.

Guard Tony Wroten, starting for Michael Carter-Williams who had a brusied foot, had 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the Sixers (5-4).

Houston guard Jeremy Lin, starting for the injured James Harden (bruised left foot), scored a season-high 34 points, while center Dwight Howard added 23 points, 15 rebounds and six assists for the Rockets (5-4).

Timberwolves 124, Cavaliers 95

Kevin Love produced a 33-point, eight-rebound, six-assist effort and the Minnesota Timberwolves blew out Cleveland even without injured guard Kevin Martin.

Martin was a late withdrawal due to illness but the Wolves (6-3) did not miss a beat as they led by 15 points in the first quarter and by 26 before halftime.

Magic 94, Bucks 91

Veteran guard Arron Afflalo scored a career-high 36 points, including 29 in the second half, to lead the Orlando Magic to a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Afflalo hit eight three-pointers, including five in a comeback third quarter for the the Magic (4-5).

Bobcats 89, Celtics 83

The Charlotte Bobcats led wire to wire and ended the Boston Celtics’ four-game winning streak with a victory.

Former Celtics center Al Jefferson scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the win ended a two-game losing streak and brought the Bobcats back to .500 at 4-4. Boston fell to 4-5.

Raptors 103, Grizzlies 87

Toronto small forward Rudy Gay scored a team-high 23 points in his return to FedExForum as the Raptors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies.

Gay was in his sixth season with the Grizzlies when they traded him to Toronto last January as a part of a three-team deal.

Nuggets 111, Lakers 99

Kenneth Faried scored 21 on 8-for-13 shooting and drew down 13 rebounds while Ty Lawson had 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds as Denver beat Los Angeles.

Russian center Timofey Mozgov came off the bench to lead the Nuggets (3-4) in scoring with 23 points.

Pau Gasol paced the Lakers (4-6) with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Jazz 111, Pelicans 105

Utah broke an eight-game losing streak for their first win of the season, as Gordon Hayward scored 27 points and distributed 10 assists for a double-double.

Turkish center Enes Kanter was nearly perfect from the field, shooting 8-of-10 for 21 points while grabbing 10 boards.

Anthony Davis continued to perform at a high level for the Pelicans (3-6) with 29 points and 15 rebounds.

Trail Blazers 90, Suns 89

Damian Lillard scored the game-winning shot with less than 10 seconds remaining as Portland (6-2) edged Phoenix (5-3) in a matchup between young Western Conference upstarts.

Lillard finished with 11 points on just 4-for-13 shooting, but his last buck – a nearly unchallenged drive to the hoop and easy layup – clinched it for the Blazers.

Robin Lopez added 13 points and 15 rebounds while reserve forward Thomas Robinson led Portland in scoring with 15.

Eric Bledsoe scored 23 for the Suns.

Kings 107, Nets 86

Brooklyn (2-5) continued a sluggish start with an embarrassing 21-point loss to Sacramento (2-5), who had only one win coming into the game.

Star Kings center DeMarcus Cousins even had something of an off night, scoring 15 on 5-for-14 shooting, but Marcus Thornton scored 24 and Isaiah Thomas added 19 off the bench.

The Nets’ star foursome struggled, with Kevin Garnett (2-for-9), Paul Pierce (4-for-12), Deron Williams (5-for-13) and Joe Johnson (3-for-10) combining to shoot only 31.8 per cent (14-for-44).

Clippers 111, Thunder 103

Los Angeles (6-3) defended home-court advantage in an early meeting between two of the Western Conference’s top teams. Blake Griffin scored 22 for the Clippers, adding 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Chris Paul had 16 assists, seven rebounds and 14 points in the victory as well, and Jamal Crawford scored 20 off the bench.

Kevin Durant shot 8-for-18 from the field and made 15-of-17 free throws in leading Oklahoma City (5-2) with 33 points.