Carmelo Anthony sets Knicks franchise, MSG scoring records with career-high 62 points
Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high 62 points in New York's 125-96 home victory over Charlotte on Friday, setting a Knicks franchise record and a Madison Square Garden record.
"I was just taking it one possession at a time," Anthony told MSG Network in a post-game interview. "I came into the game locked in. I didn't know I was going to have this type of performance. It's an unbelievable feeling. ... It's just a zone you get into sometimes. Only a certain group of people know what that zone feels like. Tonight was one of those zones. My teammates saw that."
Anthony surpassed Bernard King's franchise record of 60 points, set against the Nets on Dec. 25, 1984. He also broke Kobe Bryant's Madison Square Garden record of 61 points, set on Feb. 2, 2009.
"It didn't really sink in exactly what I did tonight," Anthony told MSG. "I know Bernard King is somewhere smiling at me right now."
New York's Hall of Fame forward in turn saluted Anthony's record-breaking performance.
"I am very proud of Carmelo Anthony," King said, according to the Knicks. "I consider him to be one of the greatest players in our game. If anyone was to break my Knicks record that I have held for so long, I'm absolutely delighted that it was Carmelo."
Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high 62 points against the Bobcats. (David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
Along the way, the home crowd serenaded the seven-time All-Star with chants of "M-V-P" and "We want 'Melo."
The 62 points also set a high mark for the 2013-14 NBA season, eclipsing the 54 points scored by Kevin Durant against the Warriors last week. Anthony's tally was the highest single-game scoring total since Bryant poured in 65 points against the Blazers on March 16, 2007.
"It was jaw-dropping," Knicks guard Iman Shumpert said, according to the New York Daily News. "We didn't know what to do but get our popcorn and watch."
Anthony's 62 points came on 23-for-35 shooting, 6-for-11 on three-pointers and 10-for-10 from the foul line. He added 13 rebounds and didn't register an assist in 39 minutes. Anthony becomes just the second player since the 1985-86 season to register 62 or more points without tallying an assist, joining Bryant, who had an assist-less 62 points against the Mavericks on Dec. 20, 2005.
Here's a look at his shot chart.
Amazingly, the damage could have been significantly worse. Anthony exited the game with 7:22 remaining in the fourth quarter and New York leading 109-72.
Heat forward LeBron Jamesturned to Twitter to call on Knicks coach Mike Woodson to let Anthony keep playing, despite the scoring margin.
"[Come on] Mike Woodson keep Carmelo Anthony in," James wrote. "I wanna see 70-to-75 [points]!"
Everything was clicking for Anthony, who even nailed a half-court buzzer-beater to finish with 37 points in the first half.
"Everything he threw up was going in and it was nice to see," Woodson said, according to NBA.com. "We rode him to a win."
Anthony's previous career high was 50 points, set on three occasions: April 2, 2013 (for the Knicks against the Heat), Feb. 7, 2011 (for the Nuggets against the Rockets), and Nov. 27, 2009 (for the Nuggets against the Knicks).
New York improved to 16-27 with the win. Charlotte dropped to 19-26 with the loss.
