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Knicks welcome Denver to MSG

Feb 7, 2014 - 3:27 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The inconsistent New York Knicks will try to end a three-game slide when they host the Denver Nuggets Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks won five in a row in early January, then lost the next five games before winning four straight. Now they're mired in a three-game slide which continued Wednesday in a 94-90 setback to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Carmelo Anthony tallied a game-high 26 points, J.R. Smith posted 18 and Amare Stoudemire finished with 15 points for New York, which shot 40 percent for the game and made only 4-of-21 3-pointers.

"I just don't like losing, period," said Knicks center Tyson Chandler, who had two points and nine rebounds. "Losing is not something that I'll ever get accustom to."

Tim Hardaway, Jr. chipped in 12 points for New York.

New York has lost two in a row at home after winning four straight there and has an 11-17 record at MSG.

Denver will play four straight on the road against New York, Detroit, Indiana and Minnesota, and is 10-12 away from the Mile High City.

The Nuggets went 2-2 on a recent homestand and won for the fourth time in the last six tries overall with Wednesday's 110-100 defeat of Milwaukee. A game after beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Randy Foye's buzzer-beating 3- pointer, Ty Lawson had 18 points and 13 assists versus the Bucks.

Wilson Chandler netted 24 points, J.J. Hickson added 19 and 10 rebounds, and Foye tallied 20 points and six assists for the Nuggets.

"It would have been a sad day had we lost this one, especially when Milwaukee was down and on the road," Lawson said.

Denver was able to move above the .500 mark and used a 17-5 run to outscore the Bucks 33-20 in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Foye is averaging 16.9 points in his last 15 games and veteran guard Andre Miller needs one steal for 1,500.

The Nuggets defeated the Knicks 97-95 on Nov. 29 at the Pepsi Center, as Lawson ended with 22 points and eight assists. Anthony, who spent his first 7 1/2 seasons with Denver, scored a game-high 27 points in that one for the Knicks, who have lost three of four and nine of the last 13 meetings.

New York is 7-4 in the previous 11 games in this series at MSG.