Knicks 125, Thunder 120
Carmelo Anthony recorded 36 points and 12 rebounds and J.R. Smith poured in 22 points off the bench as visiting New York pushed its winning streak to 12 games by topping Oklahoma City.
Raymond Felton added 16 points and eight assists and Tyson Chandler scored 15 for the Knicks, who moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the Indiana Pacers for the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference. New York is on the verge of clinching its first Atlantic Division title since 1994, leading the Brooklyn Nets by six games with six left.
Russell Westbrook had 37 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and Kevin Durant scored 27 as the Thunder had a three-game winning streak come to an end. Oklahoma City dropped one game behind the San Antonio Spurs for the top spot in the Western Conference.
The Thunder trailed by nine points early in the fourth but took their first lead since the first quarter when Durant capped a 13-4 burst with a jumper to make it 105-104 with 6:56 left. Jason Kidd buried a 3-pointer to put the Knicks back on top, and it went back and forth until Chandler’s layup with 3:42 left put New York on top for good.
Smith knocked down a jumper to keep New York in front with 1:30 remaining and provided the dagger 34 seconds later, when Felton recovered a loose ball and found Smith for a deep 3-pointer to make it a 120-113 gap.
GAME NOTEBOOK: New York’s winning streak is the franchise’s longest since a 15-game stretch in 1994. … Anthony’s 167 points over the last four games is the best four-game stretch in the NBA this season. … The Thunder shot 57.7 percent from the field but could not guard the perimeter as the Knicks knocked down 15 3-pointers.