Anthony scored 40 points and the Knicks got key contributions from J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton during a 19-5 fourth-quarter run that sparked New York to its 10th straight victory, 95-82 over Atlanta on Wednesday night.

“Melo is smart enough to know that if he’s doubled, he’ll sacrifice the ball,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “And we’ve got enough shooters around him that are making big shots. That opens it up for him even more. And when he gets going like he did tonight, they’re not going to leave him alone very often.”

Anthony, who scored 50 in his last game at Miami, scored 26 in the first half. He commanded more defensive attention in the second half, which left opportunities for Smith, who scored 19, and Felton, who scored 14. Felton’s quickness to the basket resulted in three straight scores during a 12-2 streak that turned a tie game into an 84-74 Knicks lead that was never threatened.

“A lot of (Anthony’s) points came off the bounce, with just two or three dribbles, and then a quick pull-up,” Woodson said. “When he got doubled, he got the ball out. It was kind of nice to play off him tonight.”

Atlanta forward Al Horford admitted, “He hit a lot of tough shots. I think he was very comfortable out there. We probably should have tried to pressure him more.”

Anthony made 17 of 27 from the field and was 5 for 6 at the line. He also had five rebounds and three assists, with only one turnover.

“The rhythm was there and I wanted to see if I still had it going,” Anthony said. “It was just one of those nights once again. I feel like when I have the opportunity, I just want to take my time and take it when I’m open and then find the open man when I’m doubled.”

The game was tied at 72 with 9:48 left when New York took control. The Knicks outscored the Hawks 23-10 the rest of the way, as Felton scored 10 in the final period.

“I think our coverages were bad,” Hawks guard Jeff Teague said. “I should have backed up a little bit on Raymond Felton and let him shoot a contested shot. But I got up a little bit and he used his speed to get by me.”

The win puts New York in sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference.

“This team is playing for something,” Woodson said. “We know every game counts. We’ve had our ups and downs because of injuries, but we’ve just got to finish this regular season out.”

Atlanta lost the opportunity to move into a tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and wasted a 25-point effort by Kyle Korver, who came up two points short of his season high.

“They were switching a lot of things trying to take away Josh (Smith) and Al and I was able to get some looks in the first half,” Korver said. “I tried to knock them down.”

Korver moved into third place on the all-time list for consecutive games with a 3-point basket. Korver passed Reggie Miller at 10:54 in the first quarter when he made a 3-pointer from the right side. He’s now connected for a trey in 69 straight games. Korver is still a long away from catching Dana Barros (89 consecutive games), but is within distance of Dennis Scott (78) and Michael Adams (79).

“We played a very hot basketball team,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “Particularly Carmelo, who’s playing at a very high level right now, shooting the ball extremely, extremely well. I thought there were times we defended him well. He still made shots.”

Game notes

Atlanta forward John Jenkins missed his third game since suffering a concussion against Boston. … Atlanta’s Devin Harris was not available because of foot injury. He had rehab treatment on Wednesday. … The Syracuse men’s basketball team attended the game. The team is in town to compete in the NCAA Final Four. … Also at courtside was comedian Conan O’Brien.

The post Carmelo Anthony nets 40 as Knicks drop Hawks, up streak to 10 appeared first on IdealCapper.

The shot was good.

For Anthony and the New York Knicks, the outcome was even better.

Relying entirely on jumpers, Anthony tied his career high with 50 points and the Knicks won their ninth straight game, topping the injury-depleted Miami Heat 102-90 on Wednesday night.

“I felt good tonight,” Anthony said.

There was no arguing that.

Anthony finished 18 of 26 from the field, taking two dribbles to free himself from Shane Battier and make his last shot with 16.9 seconds remaining to get to 50 and send the Knicks’ bench into hysterics. It was the third time he scored 50 in his career, and it came with Miami’s LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers all sidelined by injuries.

“I think just from the start of the game, it’s a feeling that you just have while you’re out there on the court,” Anthony said. “Sometimes you get off to a good start and then you get cold the rest of the game, but tonight wasn’t one of those cases.”

No, it was not.

He made his first seven shots, and the fact that he had 37 points before notching any other statistic of note — no rebounds, assists, steals or blocked shots until the third quarter — let everyone in the building know that he was all about a scoring spree.

And the Heat had no answers.

“It’s an inopportune time to announce my candidacy for defensive player of the year,” Battier said. “Carmelo had a hell of a game. … That’s a game that drives the analytics guys crazy because he didn’t attempt a shot within 15 feet of the basket. Most nights, we’ll take that every single time. And he made a ton of shots. Made a ton of shots. And that’s to his credit.”

J.R. Smith scored 14 and Raymond Felton added 10 for New York.

Chris Bosh scored 23 points for Miami, which beat San Antonio on Sunday without James, Wade and Chalmers, but managed only 32 second-half points against the Knicks. Mike Miller scored 18, Ray Allen finished with 16 and Norris Cole had 14 for the Heat, whose 17-game home winning streak was snapped.

The Knicks beat the Heat in three of their four regular-season matchups. They likely would not meet again before the Eastern Conference finals.

“I don’t think that team will lack confidence against anybody,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s just the nature of who they are.”

Miami’s magic number for clinching home-court throughout the NBA playoffs remained at five, and the Heat already have the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference wrapped up. The Knicks now lead Brooklyn by five games in the race for the Atlantic Division title.

It was only Miami’s second loss in its last 31 games.

Much of the star power was taken out of the equation more than eight hours before game time, when the Heat announced that James, Wade and Chalmers would not play. James has a sore hamstring, and Wade and Chalmers are dealing with ankle sprains.

All are listed as day-to-day.

“The No. 1 thing, obviously, is try to get as healthy as we can,” Spoelstra said. “Obviously, that’s a priority. From there, we have time to still try to improve — not just stay in rhythm, but to improve, and also get these guys an opportunity that haven’t been getting minutes to play in these meaningful minutes. We didn’t script San Antonio or this like this to happen, but that’s what this league is about. It’s unpredictable.”

Anthony surely did not mind their absences.

He made three shots, a combined 65 feet of swished jumpers, in the game’s first 2:17 as the Knicks ran out to an 8-0 lead. Plenty of blue-and-orange shirts in the Miami crowd roared, and the early indications were that Anthony was on his way to a monster night and the Knicks were on their way to a blowout victory.

That assessment was half-right.

“Unbelievable,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “He just refused to let us lose.”

Anthony came in averaging 27.5 points and was practically there by halftime with 27 on 9-for-12 shooting — a display the Knicks absolutely needed, since Miami more than held its own without James, Wade and Chalmers.

After trailing by as many as nine early, Miami actually roared back to lead 58-50 at the half. Miller and Cole combined for 30 at the break; Miller’s 18 were five more than he had scored in any game this season.

Anthony — who had one more field goal than every other Knick managed, combined, in the first 24 minutes — didn’t exactly cool off at halftime. By the time the third quarter was 4 minutes old, Anthony was up to 37 points.

“We actually played pretty good defense on him,” Miller said.

Anthony’s first rebound came with 7:02 left in the third, and his first assist came as the clock was expiring to end the period, setting up Steve Novak for a 3-pointer from the right corner that allowed New York to take a 78-76 lead into the final 12 minutes.

Anthony actually went 10 minutes without scoring, then made two jumpers — the second a 3-pointer — 40 seconds apart, giving the Knicks a 95-88 lead with 3:32 left.

The Heat had tied the game twice in the fourth, but never led after Novak’s 3 that closed the third.

“My thing is to try to be aggressive, make shots,” Anthony said. “When you make shots, it makes the game so much easier.”

Game notes

It was the fourth time in 25 career games, including playoffs, that Anthony eclipsed the 40-point mark against the Heat. … Wade and James looked on intently as the Heat showed a video to promote the looming playoffs after the third quarter. Wade shimmied his shoulders a bit afterward, and James started to nod at one of the final images — his sideline dance in the final seconds of Game 5’s title-clinching win over Oklahoma City last June. … Rapper Flo Rida was at the game, as was actor Andy Garcia and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. … Of the Knicks’ nine remaining games, six are against likely playoff-bound teams.

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