Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 96-93 victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Anthony, who opted to stay in New York after signing a fresh five-year deal during the offseason, also made the go-ahead basket when the game was tied at 93 with 1:23 left to play in the match.
Aside from leading the Knicks to their second win in three games, Anthony also achieved a personal milestone as he scored his 20,000th point to become the sixth youngest player to reach the feat.
"I never thought I would be here actually talking about me reaching that milestone," said Anthony, who became the 40th player to score 20,000 points when he hit a three-pointer in the 7:42 mark of the first period. "I'm definitely humbled by this experience. I (guess I) got more to go."
Amar'e Stoudemire also had an outstanding night for the Knicks as he finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Iman Shumpert added 15 points and four assists, helping rookie coach Derek Fisher score his first winning streak in the league.
"Their effort in just trying to do what we're asking them to do is really high," Fisher said after the game. "Even though we are making some mistakes, we are still making it hard for teams to score in a lot of situations."
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat remain as the only undefeated team in the Eastern Conference after escaping with a 107-102 win over the Toronto Raptors at American Airlines Arena.
Dwyane Wade almost recorded a triple-double as he ended up with 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Chris Bosh posted 21 points and 11 boards for the Heat, who almost blew a big lead during the third period.
The Heat were up by 16 points in the third quarter, but the Raptors unleashed several rallies to pull within six points midway through the fourth quarter, but Shawne Williams, who finished with 16 points and five rebounds, sealed the win for the Heat with big plays down the stretch.
With the win, the Heat scored their third win in as many games after also defeating the Washington Wizards, 107-95, and Philadelphia 76ers, 114-96, in their first two matches, respectively.
