It was a perfect storm. Carmelo Anthony is hot, playing as well as anyone in the NBA right now. Anthony was also motivated — the coach he used to feud with was coming to town with his new team. And that new team — the Los Angeles Lakers — plays team defense about as well as you and those other four strangers you played pickup with at the park Wednesday.
The result was Carmelo Anthony with 22 points — in the first quarter. Watch it. That is pure.
After that first quarter where the Knicks as a team put up 41 the game was really over. Kobe Bryant tried, but the Lakers never seriously threatened this game. And if they had, we just might have seen first quarter Carmelo show up again.
