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Is Melo previewing himself for his future team and fans?
Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" has a line about New York:
The city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien
Well, nobody slipped the Denver Nuggets or New York Knicks an Ambien this morning, because the way this game is headed it should be a high scoring affair. At half the Knicks lead the Nuggets 66-65.
With leading scorer Carmelo Anthony playing for the first time in three games, after sitting out the previous two with a knee injury, the Nuggets looked like they may have been slipped one early, down 12 in the first quarter, but the bounced back to take their first lead late in the half and trail by a single point at the break.
Nene leads the Nuggets in scoring at the half with 18 points. Melo has 16 and leads the team in rebounding with seven. Al Harrington, playing against his former squad, has contributed 12.
The Knicks have four players in double figures. Landry Fields has 13, Wilson Chandler 12, Raymond Felton 11 and Danilo Gallinari 10 for the home team. Amare Stoudemire has six on 2-8 shooting.
NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony started this morning for the Denver Nuggets against the New York Knicks. Melo had missed the previous two games with a knee injury.
Other Nugget starters: Chauncey Billups, Arron Afflalo, Nene, Shelden Williams.
Starting for the Knicks are Raymond Felton, Amare Stoudemire, Landry Fields, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari.
The tip was an early one, noon Eastern, 10:00 a.m. Mountain.
Coming into the season talk around the NBA was that Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony would end the season in a New York Knicks uniform. The thought was that the Knicks would be rebuilding and Melo would want to play alongside his good friend Amare Stoudemire.
Well, a bit over one-quarter through the season the Knicks (15-9) are one of the top five teams in the Eastern Conference, and the addition of Melo now isn't the slam dunk folks thought it would be over the summer.
If the Knicks were to trade for Melo they might do so at the expense of the chemistry New York has built this season. Whatever pieces the Nuggets (14-8) and Knicks decided to be fair market value for Anthony would certainly disrupt the flow of a team who is beating experts preseason predictions.
There is no debate that Melo would eventually better whatever team he ends up on, but if the Knicks are fighting for a first round home court series in the NBA playoffs, bringing the superstar over might not be what the doctor ordered.
As for Sunday's game, Melo is likely to play after sitting out the two previous games with a right knee injury. Though he is expected to play, trainers won't know for sure until right before tip. During his absence the Nuggets have gone 1-1, with a loss to the Boston Celtics and a win at the Toronto Raptors. For the road trip, which ends after this game versus New York, the Nuggets are 1-2.
Friday night's game against the Raptors saw George Karl win his 1000th career game, but it also saw Chauncey Billups and Al Harrington break out of personal slumps. This came after the Boston game where Ty Lawson emerged.
Besides Stoudemire's 26.1 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game, the Knicks also rely on team lead Raymond Felton and his 8.4 assists per game and 2.1 steals per game. Also expect Danilo Gallinari, Landry Fields and Wilson Chandler in the starting lineup for New York.
If the Nuggets can get all their pieces in line, and Melo can play, though early, the game should prove to be a good contest matching two teams with similar strength. If the tip-off time is too early, some of the Nuggets cogs regress or Melo can't play, expect New York to win handily.
Nuggets Vs. Knicks: New York Wins High Scoring Affair In Carmelo Anthony's Return To Lineup
Carmelo Anthony returned to the floor today and the New York Knicks defeated the Denver Nuggets by a score of 128-125.
Melo, who was playing in Madison Square Garden for the first time since rumors started swirling about a possible trade between the two teams, did not disappoint the home town fans, scoring 31 points but went 0-6 from three point land. He also led the team in rebounding with a game-high 13.
Amare Stoudemire scored 24 points in the second half for the Knicks, registering at least 30 in a game for the seventh straight contest, setting a Knicks franchise record.
Chauncey Billups, who looked to have broken out of a mini-slump on Friday, was held to 4 point on 1-7 shooting. His lone make was a game-tying 3-pointer with 1:17 left in the game to knot the score at 120. Mr Big Shot led the squad in assists with six.
Ty Lawson had his second great game on the four-game road trip, scoring 18 on 6-7 shooting form the field and 6-7 from the line. Nene contributed 26 and Al Harrington 19 in Harrington's first return to MSG after leaving New York for Denver.
The Knicks had six players in double figure as Stoudemire, Wilson Chandler, Landry Fields, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and Toney Douglas all scored over 10 points.
For the road trip the Nuggets went 1-3.
Dec 12 12:40p by Evan Pfaff - 0 comments