‘Melo Passes Bird on All-Time Scoring List

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony continues to be one of the NBA’s best scorers, as the star passed Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird on the all-time scoring list.

Anthony, who had a game-high 30 points, increased his career total to 21,793 and is now 31st overall on the National Basketball Association list, 20 points behind Gary Payton.

Carmelo Anthony had 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, leading the New York Knicks to a 118-111 overtime victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

Center Robin Lopez (season-high 22 points, 12 rebounds) also attacked the glass and scored on a putback as the Knicks’ lead expanded to 113-106 with 40.5 seconds remaining in overtime.

Derrick Williams came alive for 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, putting an exclamation point on the win with two emphatic dunks and a play that symbolized his team’s effort on the night – after tipping the ball to himself four times to secure the offensive board, he gathered, converted the layup and drew the foul to send the crowd into a frenzy. Hayward finished with an impressive 27 points on 8-19 shooting with five assists, but over the final 17 minutes of the game, Anthony helped hold Hayward to 2-6 shooting with three turnovers. But Porzingis committed his sixth foul on Hayward’s 3-point attempt with 2.4 seconds to go, and the Utah forward hit all three free throws. The game never would have went to overtime and the Knicks would have been able to breathe a little easier. The Jazz threw one last scare into the Knicks when Hayward hit a long jumper that was ruled a two-pointer and up by four, the Knicks turned the ball over when Langston Galloway was trapped in the corner. “And that’s what we’re here to do alongside of him”, Fisher said. Utah’s Rodney Hood misfired from beyond the arc. NY (22-22) responded with a 9-2 spurt that included a tiebreaking 3-pointer for Williams.

“I thought a level of grit and mental toughness is required to persevere in those situations”, Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. “I feel like there were too many breakdowns for us to overcome over the course of the game”.

“It’s mixed for me right now”, Utah coach Quin Snyder told reporters. “I’m going to get some treatment and we have great doctors, so hopefully I’ll be back on Wednesday”.

Porzingis, who had 16 points, five rebounds and three blocks, joined the 217th consecutive sellout crowd of 19,812 and cheered for the Knicks in overtime after fouling out late in regulation.

And despite winning seven games in their past 10, it’s their loss against San Antonio during that stretch that illuminates this team’s potential; Against arguably the second (or first depending on who you’re talking to) best team in the league, the Knicks showed exactly what their future is capable of. “We have to be tougher”.

Knicks: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.