Anthony return spoiled
Beasley leads Knicks at the Garden
Michael Beasley had the hot hand as the New York Knicks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-96 on Saturday, spoiling the return of Carmelo Anthony to Madison Square Garden.
Beasley shot 11 of 18 from the field to tally 30 points as six players scored in double figures for the Knicks, who improved to 16-13 on the season.
“Mike has been fantastic,” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. “He is engaged in practice, he talks with the guys, he is a smart basketball player.”
Beasley “really understands the game,” Hornacek added.
“Some of that stuff he does is effortless. He had a fantastic game.”
Anthony struggled in his return, making just five field goals and finishing with 12 points including none in the second half.
Anthony, who was featured in a highlight video during the introductions, heard cheers from the crowd of 19,800 but also a smattering of boos.
This was Anthony’s first trip back to the Garden as a member of the Thunder since being traded in September for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a draft pick.
Anthony helped lead New York to their first division title in 19 years in 2012-13 and averaged nearly 25 points per game in his six-plus-year stint with the Knicks. But he has scored more than 25 points just once in his last 26 games with the Thunder.
“The video montage caught me by surprise,” Anthony said. “I wasn’t expecting it. I was waiting for my name to be called.”
There was plenty of interest in this matchup and not just because of Anthony’s involvement. This was a battle between two hot NBA teams as the Knicks had won four of their last five and the Thunder had won six of their last eight.
Courtney Lee had 20 points and McDermott added 13 off the bench to lead the Knicks, who were without leading scorer Kristaps Porzingis, sidelined by left knee soreness.
Russell Westbrook had 25 points to lead the Thunder. Paul George added 18 points. The Thunder shot just 42 percent from the field and 60 percent from the free-throw line.
Elsewhere, Josh Richardson scored 28 points and coach Erik Spoelstra passed his mentor Pat Riley in franchise wins with his 455th as the Miami Heat defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 90-85.
Miami fended off a tremendous effort from DeAndre Jordan at the AmericanAirlines Arena. The star of a watered-down Clippers lineup scored 12 points and had 20 rebounds. Jordan has a season-best four consecutive double-doubles and seven double-doubles in his last eight starts.