Carmelo Scores 25 As Knicks Hold Off Thunder Rally For 93-90 Win
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points to help the New York Knicks defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 93-90 on Friday night for their third straight win.
The Thunder rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Dion Waiters' potential game-tying shot rattled out at the buzzer.
Arron Afflalo scored 14 points and Lance Thomas added 12 for the Knicks, who made 12 of 20 3-pointers.
Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but the NBA's No. 3 scorer made just 11 of 29 shots and went 2 of 10 on 3-pointers. Waiters added 16 points for the Thunder, who shot 38 percent and finished 3 of 29 from long range.
Oklahoma City fell to 2-3 without Kevin Durant, who sat out with a left hamstring strain.
Back-to-back 3s by Derrick Williams gave the Knicks an 82-66 lead with just under 9 minutes remaining.
A three-point play by Waiters trimmed Oklahoma City's deficit to six with about 2 minutes left. After Westbrook got a steal, Afflalo fouled Westbrook as he went to the rim. It was called a flagrant on the floor but changed to a common foul upon review. Westbrook made both free throws to cut New York's lead to 89-85.
Westbrook fouled Anthony, and he grimaced and tried to stretch out his right arm before shooting the free throws. He missed both with 32.2 seconds left.
Serge Ibaka got a good look for the Thunder, but he missed a 3-pointer from the right corner, and Robin Lopez made two free throws with 24.7 seconds left to make it a six-point game.
Westbrook made an off-balance 3 to cut New York's lead to three, then the Knicks threw away the inbounds pass with 11.8 seconds remaining. Westbrook missed a 3-pointer, and Waiters tracked down the ball in the backcourt before missing at the buzzer.
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TIP-INS
Knicks: Kristaps Porzingis, a 7-foot-3 rookie forward, opened the scoring with a 3-pointer. --- Derek Fisher played for the Thunder before retiring and taking over as Knicks coach last season. --- Langston Galloway, who entered the game leading the NBA in 3-point percentage, went 1 of 2 from long range. --- Thomas, who started last season with Oklahoma City, scored seven points in the third period to help the Knicks take a 73-62 edge into the fourth. --- New York won despite committing 20 turnovers.
Thunder: Waiters started for the first time this season. Anthony Morrow had started the previous four games, but struggled with his shot. --- Enes Kanter had 11 points and 13 rebounds in 24:48 off the bench. --- Oklahoma City outrebounded the Knicks 49-36.
UP NEXT
The Knicks are at Houston on Saturday.
The Thunder host Dallas on Sunday.
(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
