MEMPHIS, (Reuters) – Carmelo Anthony redeemed himself for a needless foul by sinking the winning basket with under a second to play as the New York Knicks grabbed a 110-108 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
“It was supposed to be a pick-and-roll but they overplayed it and I got open and away from Tony (Allen) a little bit,” Anthony told reporters of the game-winning play.
“He had been guarding me so close the whole night. I just pulled up and the shot went in. It feels good. It just goes to show we can win games in close situations.”
The Grizzlies tied the score at 108 with 14 seconds left when Zach Randolph was fouled by Anthony while shooting a two-point basket and he completed the three-point play by hitting the free throw.
The Knicks had held a 14-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter but allowed the Grizzlies to get back into the game at the free throw line where they converted all 10 opportunities in the quarter.
The Grizzlies enjoyed a huge advantage in the game at the free throw line converting 33 of 35 attempts while the Knicks had just four free throw attempts and scored on all four.
The Knicks overcame this disparity with 12 three pointers compared to three by the Grizzlies.
“Not being able to find them in the first half hurt us,” Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. “They just rained threes on us and we kept gambling and getting out of position, causing somebody to have to help.”
Anthony had a game-high 31 points and Amar’e Stoudemire added 26, while Tony Allen led the Grizzlies with 22 points and Darrell Arthur came off the bench to score 21 points, including 13 points in the fourth quarter.
