He was unstoppable. Carmelo Anthony could score from literally anywhere on the floor during the New York Knicks’ 125-96 win against the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday in Madison Square Garden.

He drained six 3-pointers. He made all 10 of his shots at the line. He scored at the rim and in the midrange. He even nailed a half-court shot at the halftime buzzer. And when 48 minutes ended — although technically he reached his final tally much earlier — the former Syracuse forward had scored a Knicks/MSG/former-SU-player record 62 points.

“Only some people know that zone,” Anthony said after the game. “I was in that kind of zone tonight.”

After one quarter, Anthony had 20 points. When his half-court dropped through the net at the halftime buzzer he had upped his total to 37. By the midway point of the third quarter, he had nearly cracked 50.

The All-Star made 23 of the 35 shots he took and even grabbed 13 rebounds for a double-double. He didn’t have any assists, though, because he’s Carmelo Anthony and that’s kind of his thing.

He dropped in a pair of free throws early in the fourth quarter to match Bernard King’s New York single-game scoring record. A runner 2:30 later broke that record and broke Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant’s Garden scoring record.

Anthony’s performance also topped Durant for most points in a game this season. The forward had 54 last Friday.

Former Detroit Pistons guard Dave Bing had the previous high for a former Orangeman with a 54-point outing in 1971.

Knicks head coach Mike Woodson pulled Anthony out of the game shortly after he set the Madison Square Garden record with 7:22 left in regulation and New York cruised to the finish line.

Published on January 24, 2014 at 10:23 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2