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NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony let it fly from halfcourt, and when it went in, he had proof of what was already obvious. cheap jerseys . "When I made the shot at the half, I told myself the zone was there," Anthony said. Soon, he had passed Kevin Durant. Next was Bernard King, and finally Kobe Bryant. Three records, all shot down in one scintillating performance. Anthony scored a career-high 62 points to break the franchise and current Madison Square Garden marks, and the New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 125-96 on Friday night to stop a five-game losing streak. Anthony made 23 of 35 shots, one when he leapt from centre court to beat the halftime buzzer, and even added 13 rebounds in the NBAs highest-scoring performance this season. Anthony had 56 after three quarters, bettering Durants previous season high of 54, and stayed in for the first few minutes of the fourth to break Kings Knicks record of 60 set in 1984 and Bryants arena record of 61 set five years ago. "I made history tonight, with the performance, but just to be a part of that group of people, like I said, theres only a small group of people that knows what that zone feels like and tonight I was one of them," Anthony said. It was easily the highlight of the season for Anthony, on pace to miss the playoffs for the first time in his career and facing frequent questions about his future with the team as he heads into free agency this summer. That was all on hold for one night, the focus simply on Anthonys amazing scoring. He easily passed his previous career best of 50 points and possibly couldve even passed 70 or more had the game been close. Instead, he checked out for good after breaking the records when he banked in a short jumper with 7:24 to play. "Ive seen him score a lot of points, but that was some performance right there," said J.R. Smith, who was also a teammate of Anthonys in Denver. Smith noticed a different focus from Anthony before the game, a seriousness replacing the usual laughter. Perhaps some of it was some added pregame motivation after the team watched a video featuring Muhammad Ali, one of Anthonys favourite athletes. With the Knicks desperately thin in the frontcourt after losing Andrea Bargnani on top of the injuries to Amare Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin, Anthony simply took on more of the scoring load as New York won for the first time on its eight-game homestand after dropping the first three. King, elected to the Hall of Fame last year, said he was proud of Anthony, who he considers one of the best players in the game. "If anyone was to break my Knicks record that I have held for so long, Im absolutely delighted that it was Carmelo," King said through the teams public relations department. Al Jefferson had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats, snapping his streak of four straight 20-10 games. Charlotte had won two in a row, holding division leaders Toronto and the Los Angeles Clippers to an average of 93 points. But the Knicks, who had lost to the Bobcats 10 days ago to start their current skid, shot 56 per cent. So what happened to Charlottes defence? "Melo. Enough said," Jefferson said. Fans chanted "Melo! Melo!" when the Knicks had the ball in the second half, as if they were calling a play. That was replaced by "We Want Melo! We want Melo!" after he checked out. He made 20 of his first 26 shots against what had been a good defensive team, but there was no defence for the zone Anthony was in. "When hes in one of those zones, aint nothing nobody can do about it," Jefferson added. Last seasons scoring champion had eight points in the first 2 1/2 minutes, went 8 of 10 in the first quarter and had 20 points as the Knicks led 30-21. He skipped his usual break and kept playing deep into the second quarter before finally taking a seat with 4:34 left, shortly after missing an open jumper. He returned with 2 1/2 minutes left to finish the half in style, throwing in a buzzer beater from just inside halfcourt to cap his 15-of-21 half and make it 67-46, Stoudemire laughing hysterically on the bench in his brown suit jacket and the rest of the players leaping in celebration. "Just to see everybody smiling once again, thats what I was more excited to see," Anthony said. "Guys on the bench smiling, high-fiving, having fun once again, thats the only thing I care about." Turned out Anthony was just getting started. He made his first five shots in the second half and the Bobcats would eventually grow frustrated, picking up two technical fouls on one play after Anthonys 3-pointer late in the third. He made both free throws, part of his 10-for-10 showing at the line, and said he tried to check himself out earlier but his teammates wouldnt allow it. Notes: Kemba Walker, who had 25 points in all three previous matchups against the Knicks, sat out his third game in a row with a sprained left ankle. ... The Knicks said Bargnani, who tore the ulner collateral ligament in his left elbow, wont require surgery and will instead just need rest and treatment. cheap jerseys from china . "It is my feeling the club is at a stage that is critical to our on-field expectations and this move was necessary," Hervey told a news gathering hours after he informed Reed he was gone after three years as head coach. nfl jerseys china . Bryan Murray made an announcement after the GMs meetings - and as was reported by Pierre LeBrun a couple of weeks ago - that Jason Spezza wants a trade out of Ottawa. Whats the latest on that? Pierre LeBrun: Yes, he made it public. CLEVELAND -- The Andrew Bynum experiment appears over for the Cavaliers. The team suspended the enigmatic centre indefinitely on Saturday for "conduct detrimental to the team" and banned him from all team-related activities. Bynum, who signed a two-year, $24 million contract with the Cavs in July, did not travel with the team to Boston for Saturdays game and its likely that he has played his final game for Cleveland. The Cavs will try to trade Bynum. Bynums suspension isnt a major shock considering he has not performed at a consistent level and has appeared uninterested while on the floor. Earlier this season, the 7-footer, who did not play a single second last season for Philadelphia because of knee injuries, talked openly about retirement and said his medical issues have been a challenge to overcome. "Its a terrible situation internally with our team," All-Star guard Kyrie Irving said before the Cavs faced the Celtics. "Its something we have to get over." Cavs coach Mike Brown has been a huge supporter of Bynum. The two were together in Los Angeles and their relationship was one of the reasons the Cavs risked signing Bynum. Brown was asked if Bynums days with the Cavs were over. "Hes on an indefinite suspension and Im not trying to be funny, but you know what indefinite means," Brown said. "Weve got 14 guys in that locker room who are very focused and determined and ready to take on any challenge thats in front of them. Theyre great guys, theyre focused guys and they know how to play the game the right way and thats what Im focused on, just helping those guys win." There were times this season Bynum showed flashes of being a dominant post player again. But recently he has lacked energy or enthusiasm, and on Monday he missed all 11 field-goal attempts and didnt score in 22 minutes against Detroit. On Thursday night, Bynum struggled to guard Atlantas Al Horford and was taken out in the third quarter. Bynum didnt return despite Horford suffering a torn chest muscle in the Hawks double-overtime winn. wholesale nfl jerseys. Bynum impressed the Cavs with his work ethic while getting ready for the season. They werent sure if he was motivated, but Bynum shocked many by being ready to play on opening night and seemed to have revived his career. The Cavs, however, grew concerned about Bynums attitude in recent weeks and were worried about it affecting team chemistry. So, they opted to remove him before things got worse. Cavs guard Jarrett Jack said Bynum wasnt disruptive and that his quietness may have been misinterpreted. "Thats just kind of how people are sometimes," Jack said. "People like to march to the beat of their own drum. Thats not saying youre a bad guy, thats just how you are. I thought we actually had a good relationship with him. He wasnt somebody that was reluctant to speak to people. I thought we had a decent bit of camaraderie and hopefully this will pass and be over and well be back at full strength soon." The Cavs only guaranteed Bynum $6 million on his deal, and they can clear more salary cap space if he is traded or released by Jan. 7. There could be interest in Bynum by a team willing to accept that hes not the same player who routinely recorded double-digit points and rebounds for the Los Angeles Lakers. The 26-year-old Bynum spent seven seasons with the Lakers, who selected him with the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft. Bynum is averaging 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 24 games -- 19 starts this season. Although Brown said Bynum showed "glimpses" of being a force near the basket again, the Cavs had to place the welfare of the team ahead of getting the former All-Star turned around. "Im worried about the guys in the locker room," he said. "Its as simple as that. In our business there are a lot of ups and a lot of downs throughout the season. I think you all understand that. So what you do as a head coach is you keep moving forward. Any time you look back on anything or dwell on anything is wasted energy from the guys in the locker room, which is obviously very important." cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
