Video: Knicks' Carmelo Anthony explodes for 50 points against Heat
By Ben Golliver
Knicks All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony tied his career-high by exploding for 50 points against the Heat in a 102-90 win Tuesday night in Miami. Anthony previously scored 50 points on two occasions as a member of the Nuggets: a Nov. 27, 2009, win over the Knicks and a Feb. 7, 2011, loss to the Rockets.
"I felt good tonight," Anthony said in a televised post-game interview. "My goal was to come out here and attack it, we wanted to win this game regardless of who came out here and suited up. Miami is a tough team, a championship team, we wanted to win this game for our own confidence, our own momentum, and we came out here and did that."
Anthony shot 18-for-26 from the field, seven-for-10 from deep and seven-for-eight from the free throw line against the Heat, who chose to rest LeBron James and Dwyane Wade with minor injuries. Anthony also tallied two rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 40 minutes. His nothing-but-green shot chart is below.
Only two players this season have managed more points than Anthony: Stephen Curry, who went off for 54 points in a February loss to the Knicks, and Kevin Durant, who tallied 52 points in a January overtime win over the Mavericks. John Wall also had 47 points in a March win over the Grizzlies.
Anthony, the NBA's second-leading scorer at 27.9 points per game, has topped 40 points on five other occasions this season, including 45 points in games against the Nets and Blazers. He missed six games in March due to injury but said in the televised interview Tuesday that he's feeling much better as the playoffs approach.
"I'm healthy, that's a big key for me," Anthony said. "I'm feeling like the beginning of the season once again as far as my health goes."
New York, the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed, improved to 47-26 with their ninth straight win.
Miami, the East's No. 1 seed, dropped to 58-16 with the loss. Chris Bosh finished with 23 points (on six-for-13 shooting), six rebounds and four assists in a losing effort.
