CAN’T FOUL THIS UP
Carmelo and Co. win in OT following gaffe by Porzingis
ON THE night he passed Larry Bird on the alltime scoring list, Carmelo Anthony exhibited the versatility more typical of the Celtics legend — from scoring to facilitating to leading to bailing out a teammate, Kristaps Porzingis, who committed a boneheaded foul.
It was a disjointed game that the Knicks had seemingly lost, then won, then blown, then won again in overtime, finally, 118-111, over the Jazz on Wednesday night at the Garden.
Anthony was the one constant for his team after halftime. He finished with a game-high 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting, registering nine assists and seven rebounds. Two nights after he logged 50 minutes on a sore ankle in a doubleOT win over Philadelphia, Anthony played 42 minutes Wednesday and passed Bird for 31st on the NBA’s alltime list with 3:43 remaining in overtime.
“I don’t know how I can put that into any kind of words. Just to be on that list and to know that I passed Larry knowing what he did in his career, knowing what he did in this league, I don’t know how to put that into words” said Anthony, who has 21,793 points in his career (Bird had 21,791) and is now one spot and 20 points behind Gary Payton.
Porzingis was certainly relieved the Knicks (22-22) pulled it out. He would have been the reason they lost. With the Knicks holding a 99-96 advantage with 2.4 seconds remaining in regulation, the rookie fell for a pump fake and fouled Gordon Hayward in the act of shooting from beyond the arc. Hayward then buried the three foul shots to send the game to OT.
Porzingis, who finished with 16 points with five rebounds, immediately left the game with his sixth foul, watching anxiously as Anthony, Robin Lopez and Derrick Williams saved his behind in overtime. Everybody was forgiving in the locker room. “I’m mad that it was KP because then people are going to call it a rookie mistake,” Anthony said. “But it could’ve been anybody in that situation. Hayward is a crafty player.” Porzingis said it’s a learning experience. “I got to use my length. Those are my instincts to go up and try to block it but in that situation I have to stay on my feet,” he said.
The Knicks, winners of two straight, have a chance to get above .500 for the first time since November with a victory Friday at home against the Clippers. They needed to recover from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the Jazz, and Anthony was feeling it in the final minute of regulation as he recorded two assists on 3-pointers and blew past Rudy Gobert for a dunk that put the Knicks up by four with 15.7 seconds remaining.
“The interesting thing with Melo is that there’s this land of opportunity that he has not quite accessed yet,” coach Derek Fisher said, referencing Anthony’s newfound commitment to facilitating. “That’s what we’re here to do alongside of him.”
The Knicks trailed from early in the first quarter until 5:08 remained in the fourth, when Anthony dunked on Trey Lyles to give the Knicks an 81-80 lead and set up a dramatic finish.
Robin Lopez scored 22 points – including four in overtime – with 12 rebounds. Reserve Derrick Williams, who finished with 18 points, joined Anthony as the hero in OT with seven points. He also hit the big shot that prompted the crowd to chant his name: an and-1 layup off an offensive rebound with about a minute remaining. He hit his subsequent free throw to give the Knicks a 111-105 lead. The Jazz (18-24), who trounced the Knicks in Utah last month, got 27 points from Hayward and 29 from Rodney Hood. Porzingis was listed as questionable because of a sore foot, but kept his goal alive of playing in every game this season.