Carmelo Anthony: 5 Best Performance With The New York Knicks

Sacramento Kings v New York Knicks
Carmelo Anthony with the New York Knicks.

A couple of days back, Carmelo Anthony verbally agreed to sign a 1-year deal with the Houston Rockets, USA Today's Sam Amick reported. The 2017 Western Conference Finalist are all set to be his third franchise in as many as years, not something to boast off about for a future first-ball Hall of Famer.

The 2017-18 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder was one filled with turmoil for Anthony as he was constantly questioned, all through the season, for his effectiveness on both ends of the floor or lack thereof. And although the Thunder franchise traded for him in the summer of 2017, knowing he had two seasons remaining on his contract, both parties were simply not happy if things stayed the same way for the 2018-19 season and the 10-time All-Star was eventually traded to the Atlanta Hawks on the 19th of July. Five days later, he agreed to a buyout with the franchise and became an unrestricted free-agent.

Of the 15 seasons played so far, Melo has represented the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks for 14 - 7.5 in Denver and 6.5 in the Big Apple. Anthony played lesser games representing the Knicks so his career totals are bound to be lesser than the ones he amassed in Denver but in terms of averages, an argument can be made that he was better.

That being said, we take a look back at Carmelo Anthony's 5 greatest games as a member of the New York Knicks:

#5 First Triple-Double - 17th April 2012 vs the Boston Celtics

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Carmelo Anthony

Stat line: 35 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals on 54.2% shooting

Carmelo Anthony only has two career triple-doubles, so therefore, the games that he does record double-digit assists are worth noting and looking back on. Not just that, it came against a then strong Boston Celtics squad and he led the Knicks to a win. Towards the end of the lockout-shortened season, the Knicks were fighting for the last couple of Playoff spots against a Celtics squad that was gaining momentum in the second half of the season.

Although he scored 35 points himself, Melo received a ton of support from the team's sharpshooting bench players. Steve Novak and JR Smith combined for 50 points (25 apiece) on 15-of-20 shooting from 3-point range, helping Melo and the Knicks overcome a 43-point effort by Paul Pierce.

Something you'll notice on each of the games we have compiled here, Melo puts up his game-high points tallies with incredible efficiency.

#4 First Big Playoff Performance - 19th April 2012 vs the Boston Celtics

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Carmelo Anthony with coach Mike D'Antoni in Games 2 of Round 1 in the 2011 NBA Playoffs

Stat line: 42 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks on 46.7% shooting

Forcing himself onto the Knicks during the mid-season All-Star break via a trade, Carmelo Anthony had a pretty sub-par first Playoff game with the franchise as they competed against the Boston Celtics in Round 1 of the 2011 Playoffs.

Game 2 was a different story.

He erupted for 42 points in the game, 26 coming in the second half. A player with his size and strength, if he is getting double-digit rebounds, more often than not, he is having an incredible game. On the road, at the TD Garden, he recorded 17 rebounds, dished out 6 assists and blocked 2 shots. Alas, he couldn't ensure the team a victory in this game as they came up short with a slim margin of 3 points.

Despite the loss, everybody took the silver lining from the game. That this Playoff performance by Anthony was the first of many to come as a member of the Knicks franchise.

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#3 Game-Winner on Easter - 8th April 2012 vs the Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls v New York Knicks
Chicago Bulls v New York Knicks

Stat line: 43 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block on 51.6% shooting [CLUTCH!]

This was arguably one of Anthony's greatest clutch performances ever, let alone at the Madison Square Garden or as a member of the Knicks. Once again, this came against a formidable squad - the East-leading Chicago Bulls in the 2011-12 season on an Easter Sunday in New York.

Melo didn't hit just one, he hit two clutch shots in this game - the first to tie the scores up at 91 with 11.2 seconds to go and force overtime while the second turned out to be game-winner (Derrick Rose missed a possible game-winner) in overtime with 8.2 seconds to go.

Melo didn't have a lot of other contributions in the game - 7 rebounds and 3 assists - but when you put up these many points at an efficiency of 51.6%, nothing else matters. More importantly, 17 of Anthony's 43 points came in the fourth quarter and overtime.

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#2 SUPER EFFICIENT 50 - 2nd April 2013 vs the Miami Heat

New York Knicks v Miami Heat
New York Knicks v Miami Heat

Stat line: 50 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block on 69.2% shooting

Looking at the stat line, Melo emphasizes once again, what an insanely efficient shooter he is and how he has the gifted ability to put a lot of points in a hurry at a good clip.

What's even more amazing about this game is that Anthony did not have a single point in the paint. All of his 50 points came from the mid-range or beyond the arc, where he shot 7-of-10 (70%) from. Yes, it came against the reigning champs - the Miami Heat - who had recorded a 27-game winning streak in March of that season but in this game, both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were not participating.

Nonetheless, Anthony's efficiency is remarkable and cannot be undermined because it came against a slightly weakened opposition. Important to note also is that this was Anthony's most successful season with the Knicks - 54 wins and a Conf. Semifinals appearances.

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#1 Career-High 62 Pts - 24th January 2014 vs the Charlotte Bobcats

Carmelo Anth
Carmelo Anthony's career-night

Stat line: 62 points, 13 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals on 65.7% shooting

Would it be fair to call this the greatest moment of Carmelo Anthony's career?

Maybe not but we'll never know. Unfortunately, a talent of his caliber does not have the Playoffs accomplishments that set him apart from everybody else. He isn't an NBA Champion, actually, he hasn't even reached the NBA Finals even once in his career. But he will always be the player to have scored the most number of points in a single game at the Garden - 62 points.

It was an unbelievable night. As the stat line above suggests, Melo literally did not but score and rebound the ball but what he did do, was of the exceptional nature. 62 points while grabbing 13 rebounds at a shooting clip of 65.7% shooting is almost unheard of. The Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) had absolutely no answer for him because this was Melo at his absolute scoring peak. Not a lot of teams have an answer when he plays at that level.

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Edited by Yash Matange