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'Melo, Knicks send Wizards to 0-7

Jan 7, 2012 - 5:06 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Carmelo Anthony's three-pointer with 15.5 seconds left put New York on top for good in a 99-96 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Nick Young had a chance to send the game into overtime with a three-pointer at the buzzer after Iman Shumpert made 1-of-2 free throws at the other end, but Young's shot was too hard and bounced off the back of the rim to keep the Wizards winless on the year.

Anthony finished with 37 points and seven assists, while Amare Stoudemire recorded a double-double with 23 points and 12 boards as the Knicks halted a two-game losing streak.

Young paced the Wizards with 24 points while making 4-of-7 shots from beyond the arc, but his missed shot resulted in Washington falling to 0-7 on the year and extended the worst start in franchise history.

John Wall added 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds in a losing effort.

Entering the fourth quarter trailing 72-69, Washington scored six straight points to take a 75-72 lead.

But New York scored 12 of the game's next 14 points to take an 84-77 advantage.

With the Knicks holding a 95-87 lead and 3:37 to play, Washington reeled off a 9-0 run to pull within one in the final minute as New York struggled from the floor.

Then, coming out of a timeout on the Knicks' next possession, Anthony took the ball off a screen near the top of the key and drained the game-deciding trey.

Wall attempted a three-pointer at the other end that rimmed out and the Wizards' Andray Blatche grabbed the offensive rebound with plenty of time on the clock to set up for a shot. But he hastily tossed the ball towards the rim as he was falling backwards and missed everything as Shumpert grabbed the board.

"We fought hard," said Young. "Hopefully we can continue to play this way every night."

After an Anthony jumper gave the Knicks an early 4-2 lead, Washington reeled off a 19-5 run to jump out to a 21-9 advantage.

New York responded with a 7-2 spurt to close the gap to 23-16, but that is as close as the Knicks would get in the first as the Wizards closed out the opening quarter with a 9-2 swing to take a 32-18 lead after one.

Washington's lead stretched to as much as 16 just after the eight-minute mark of the second quarter when they held a 40-24 lead, but New York began to storm back, scoring seven straight points to shrink the Wizards' advantage to nine.

JaVale McGee answered with a three-point play to give Washington back its double-digit advantage, but New York outscored Washington by a mark of 15-4 from there, including the half's final nine points, to make it a 47-46 game at the break.

"We were down 16, but we were not going to not play hard," said Stoudemire. "In the second quarter we took it upon ourselves to try and get the energy going and we did that."

Anthony supplied the majority of the offense for New York as he dropped in 10 of his team's final 15 points and a total of 13 in the second quarter.

New York's first lead since the beginning of the game came early in the third quarter when Blatche's turnover led to a short Landry Fields field goal and a 48-47 New York lead.

The Knicks held their largest lead of the game in the third, 66-57, with under five minutes to go in the frame, but Washington closed out the third strong to trail 72-69 after three.

Game Notes

The Wizards are the lone winless team in the NBA and have lost eight in a row dating back to last season...Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 15 rebounds for New York...Blatche finished with 15 points for Washington, while McGee had 13 with 10 boards.