Knicks hold off Kings
NEW YORK -- Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points apiece to lead the New York Knicks to a 106-98 win over the Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Rose hit the 20-point mark for the third time in his past four games.
Brandon Jennings scored a season-high 19 points, and Kristaps Porzingis contributed 15 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Knicks, who are 9-3 at the Garden.
New York (11-9) moved two games over .500 for the first time since Nov. 21, 2015. Sacramento (7-13) lost its third straight, all on the road.
DeMarcus Cousins paced the Kings with 36 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. It marked the 10th time Cousins has poured in at least 30 points this season. He was 14 of 16 from the foul line.
He also picked up his league-leading seventh technical foul.
Rudy Gay added 22 points and nine rebounds for Sacramento.
Anthony scored five of the Knicks' final seven points to preserve the win.
Willie Cauley-Stein's three-point play closed the Knicks' lead to 96-94 at the 4:51 mark, but Anthony's 3-pointer pushed the margin to 99-94 with 3:24 left.
New York was outscored 36-26 in the third quarter but held on to an 81-77 lead.
A 20-2 burst got Sacramento within 74-73 with 1:24 remaining in the third.
The Knicks shot a sterling 47 percent (8 of 17) from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half and led 55-41 at the break. The Kings committed nine turnovers in the half and shot just 28.6 percent from the floor.
A 3-pointer from Garrett Temple got the Kings to within 48-38 with 2:45 left in the second.
New York opened the second quarter with a 22-4 run, extending its lead to 48-25 at the 5:22 mark. Jennings fueled the onslaught with two of New York's four 3-pointers.
Rose produced a stellar first quarter, scoring 10 points and dishing out three assists to help the Knicks to a 26-21 lead. Cousins poured in 14 points.
Overall, New York outshot Sacramento from the floor 44.3 percent to 32.3 percent.
NOTES: Kings C DeMarcus Cousins was a surprise visitor at the NBA store in New York City on Saturday, helping a Sacramento family and five underprivileged children in New York pick out items. ... The Knicks were without G Courtney Lee (sprained ankle). ... Cousins and Knicks F Carmelo Anthony were teammates on USA's gold-medal-winning team at the Rio Olympics. ... Knicks C Joakim Noah started after missing the previous two games with a sprained ankle. He finished with two points and five rebounds in 25 minutes. ... Kings F Arron Afflalo averaged 12.8 points per game last season with the Knicks.