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Anthony shines as Knicks down Pelicans

Feb 20, 2014 - 5:56 AM New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Carmelo Anthony got the New York Knicks back in the win column by pouring in 42 points to lift his team to a 98-91 decision over the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center.

Anthony, just three days removed from hitting an All-Star Game-record eight shots from 3-point range in the very same venue, scored six straight points to send the Knicks back in front after Tyreke Evans gave New Orleans a 91-90 lead by burying a corner jumper with 2:28 remaining.

J.R. Smith added 19 points in only New York's second victory in its last eight outings, with fellow reserve Tim Hardaway Jr. finishing with 16 points in the triumph.

The Pelicans came up short despite a 28-point performance from Eric Gordon and a 14-point, 10-rebound, five-block effort out of Anthony Davis. Austin Davis also tallied 14 points in a losing cause.

"We just missed a lot of shots and we didn't share the ball like we usually do," Pelicans head coach Monty Williams said.

New York squandered a 13-point lead with 11 minutes to go, but Anthony willed his team to a win by coming up with several big plays down the stretch. He put back his own miss following Evans' go-ahead basket, then knocked down a contested runner in the lane for a 94-91 Knicks edge with 1:14 to play.

The star forward followed up with a hustle steal of a Brian Roberts pass -- hurling the ball to teammate Tyson Chandler as he was falling out of bounds -- before delivering the dagger on a pull-up jumper with 40.4 seconds left.

"I thought our defense got really stingy coming down the stretch in terms of getting stops and then (Anthony) was able to offensively bring us home," Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said.

New Orleans battled back from the double-digit deficit behind its bench, with Rivers netting five points and Luke Babbitt draining a key three during an 11-0 run that brought the Pelicans within 83-81 with 7:59 to go. Roberts later sunk back-to-back baskets to cap a 6-0 stretch that put the hosts up 89-88 with under four minutes left.

Anthony countered with a long two to place the Knicks back ahead, but Evans swished through a jumper from the corner for a 91-90 New Orleans lead.

Neither team was ahead by more than five points over the game's first 20 minutes, with the score deadlocked at 45-45 with 3:50 to play in the opening half. The Knicks ended the frame on an 8-2 run, highlighted by a Hardaway trey with 56.4 seconds showing, to go into the break up 53-47.

New York extended the margin with a solid third quarter in which Anthony dropped in 11 points. The Knicks took a 78-70 advantage into the final frame, with Smith hitting a 3-ball to open the fourth and following with a driving layup that put New Orleans in a 13-point hole.

Game Notes

The Knicks played without forward Amare Stoudemire due to a sore left knee, while swingman Iman Shumpert exited in the third quarter with a left knee injury ... New York went 10-of-21 from 3-point range, with Smith making 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc and Hardaway going 3-for-6 ... The Knicks have now won in each of their last five visits to New Orleans ... New York came into the contest 5-15 against Western Conference clubs.