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Anthony powers Knicks past Pistons

Nov 26, 2012 - 12:30 AM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Carmelo Anthony poured in a game-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting as the New York Knicks thumped the Detroit Pistons, 121-100, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Steve Novak went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc en route to 18 points, while J.R. Smith contributed 15 points and 10 boards for the Knicks, who were coming off a loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday in which they allowed a season-high 131 points.

Rasheed Wallace netted 15 points and Raymond Felton donated 14 with 10 assists in the victory.

"We just had to get back to trusting each other on the defensive end," Anthony said. "The last couple of games, we weren't sticking to our defensive standard, but we got back to it today."

Brandon Knight scored a team-high 21 points to go with five assists, Charlie Villanueva netted 17 points and Kyle Singler added 16 points for Detroit, which has lost two of its last three games. Greg Monroe donated 12 points and seven assists in the setback.

The game remained close for much of the opening frame as a pair of free throws by Monroe with 4:29 left tied things at 18, but the Knicks soon began to pull away.

Jason Kidd drained a deep three that sparked a 14-4 run to close the quarter, giving the home side a 32-22 lead. Anthony shot the lights out for the Knicks over the first 12 minutes, hitting 6-of-7 from the floor and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc en route to 15 points.

Detroit opened the second quarter with seven straight points to cut the deficit to three. But, following a timeout, the Knicks got back on track, using an 11-5 surge to build the lead back to nine with 6:19 to play in the half.

A trey from the top of the arc by Villanueva cut the margin to seven with 4:38 left, but New York closed the half with a 19-6 run to open a 20-point lead, 64-44 at the break.

The Knicks stayed in front for the duration of the third quarter, but a driving layup by Knight with 1:56 on the clock cut the deficit to 80-71. New York answered with six of the final seven points in the frame to lead 86-72 heading to the fourth quarter.

Detroit never got close in the fourth, as an 18-footer by Chris Copeland late in the frame gave the Knicks their largest lead of the day, 118-94.

"It's disappointing," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "How many minutes of defense did we play? I don't know, but I know it's not nearly good enough."

Game Notes

The Knicks improved to 9-2 in their last 11 matchups with the Pistons ... Detroit hasn't won at MSG since April 8, 2009, a span of six consecutive losses ... Anthony was 8-of-11 from the floor for 21 points in the first half ... New York shot 48.1 percent overall and 17-of-33 from beyond the arc ... The Pistons shot 47.4 percent from the floor, but turned it over 20 times, leading to 33 New York points.