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Anthony and Knicks edge Suns in OT

Jan 14, 2014 - 5:23 AM New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Carmelo Anthony amassed 29 points and 16 rebounds as the New York Knicks ran their season-high winning streak to five games with a 98-96 overtime decision over the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden.

Anthony shot just 9-of-24 from the field and the Knicks blew a 10-point lead late in the third quarter, but began overtime on a 6-1 run before holding off the Suns the rest of the way.

Raymond Felton added 19 points for New York, which put forth a strong defensive effort by limiting Phoenix to a 35.5 percent shooting percentage.

"It was a total team effort tonight but it was our defense coming down the stretch that secured it," Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said.

The Suns fell to 1-4 on a five-game road trip despite Goran Dragic's 28 points and eight rebounds and a 21-point effort off the bench from Leandro Barbosa. Miles Plumlee totaled 12 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

"I thought we gave one heck of an effort. We just didn't make shots," Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek said.

Phoenix fought back from its double-digit deficit to grab an 84-83 edge on a Dragic layup with 5:50 left in regulation, and Marcus Morris and Barbosa followed with back-to-back baskets to extend the margin to five. The Suns' lead was three before New York's Kenyon Martin scored on a putback dunk with 3:15 to go, and neither team managed a point until Anthony fed Felton for a corner three that put the Knicks up 92-90 with 53.1 seconds remaining.

Anthony misfired on New York's next possession, however, and Martin was called for fouling Barbosa on a near-tie-up with just 1.2 seconds showing. The journeyman guard hit both free throws to bring on the extra session.

Anthony then hit a couple of big shots as the Knicks netted six of the first seven points of OT to own a 98-93 lead with 2 1/2 minutes left. Though New York failed to score the rest of the way, the Suns managed just three free throws while missing all four of their field goal tries.

The Knicks assumed control early, with Anthony converting a 4-point play midway through the opening quarter to ignite a 13-0 run that staked New York to a 22-10 lead late in the period. The margin grew as high as 14 points in the second quarter after Toure Murry drove the lane and scored for a 36-22 differential around 3 1/2 minutes into the frame.

Dragic, who poured in 20 points prior to halftime, led a 7-0 spurt later on to pull the Suns within 40-36, but the Knicks scored the next 10 points before settling for a 52-43 edge at the break.

New York was up by a 66-56 count with under 3 1/2 minutes to play in the third quarter and entered the fourth ahead 75-68, but Barbosa caught fire to help bring Phoenix back. Six of his 14-point outburst during the final period of regulation came within a span of just over a minute, with the last of those baskets pulling the Suns within 78-76 with 8:27 remaining.

Game Notes

Anthony was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 27.0 points and 2.3 steals in three New York wins ... Barbosa, signed to a 10-day contract by the Suns on Jan. 8, had just 15 points combined over his first three games since re-joining the club ... The Knicks have allowed an average of just 89 points during their five-game surge ... With Barbosa's performance and Morris' 12 points leading the way, the Suns' bench outscored New York's reserves by a 36-26 margin.