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Jim Boeheim's favorite Syracuse Orange son, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, made NBA history Friday night, as he scored a franchise-best 62 points in a 125-96 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats at Madison Square Garden.
Anthony bested a 60-point performance by Knick legend Bernard King to break the team record, which was originally set on Christmas Day, 1984, and Kobe Bryant's 61-point outing at MSG in 2009 to claim the building's top mark.
'Melo, who has been the biggest scapegoat for the Knicks failures this season, shot an amazing 23-of-35 from the field, including knocking down 6-of-10 3-point attempts and going 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Melo was taking out of the game with about seven minutes to go.
Carmelo Anthony taken out with 62 points, record for current version of Madison Square Garden. pic.twitter.com/Z5iXTu0vE6
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 25, 2014
"I came into this game locked in," Anthony said in his post-game interview. "I didn't know I was going to have this kind of performance. It was an unbelievable feeling being locked in."
At halftime, Anthony had 37 points and you knew it was his night when he made this bad boy go down as the buzzer sounded.
As the game clock clicked down in the fourth quarter, New York fans were chanting, "We want 'Melo," looking for an encore. In the end, they wouldn't get it but they got one heck of a show.
From all of us here at TNIAAM. Congrats Carmelo.