What a whirlwind week for Carmelo Anthony.
After missing two games last week due to a freak ankle injury where he tripped over a referee, the 31-year old returned to the floor on Monday night to help the Knicks gut out a double overtime win while logging 49 minutes of court time.
Two nights later, Anthony turned in a masterful performance in 42 minutes action in the overtime victory over the Jazz. The Knicks leading man posted 30 points, dished out nine assists, and grabbed seven boards in a duel against Gordon Hayward. Anthony’s playmaking down the stretch was crucial to help lift New York to a 13-8 mark at the Garden. Additionally, the 30-spot launched Anthony past the legendary small forward Larry Bird for 31st place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
The Knicks leading scorer also found himself in an interesting situation just a couple of weeks ago, trailing Andre Drummond for one of the three frontcourt spots available for the Eastern Conference All-Star starters. Anthony gained steam and passed Drummond in the last public results before Thursday night’s announcement on TNT.
When the final votes were tallied, the TNT crew announced Anthony as an All-Star starter for the eighth time in his career and ninth appearance overall. Anthony received 567,348 votes from the fans, only 360 votes ahead of Pau Gasol. Drummond finished fourth and a familiar face made a late push to the fifth spot.
The Knicks outstanding rookie Kristaps Porzingis received 473,579 votes and finished one spot above perennial All-Star Chris Bosh. Porzingis has captured back-to-back Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards and is considered one of the top rookies in the league. The Latvian also made some noise in the marketing department this week by landing the fourth spot in the top 15 most popular NBA jerseys.
Shifting the focus back to Anthony, the star of the night is arguably enjoying his best all-around season. While his points per game is down to 21.5, No. 7 is registering a career-high assists per game at nearly four dimes a night to go along with 7.6 boards.
Anthony has shined in the NBA’s midseason showcase. He scored 27 in 2010, dropped 26 in 2013, and drilled a remarkable 8-of-13 shots from downtown en route to 30 points in 2014.
Stay tuned to Knicks.com for comprehensive coverage of Anthony’s trip to the 2016 All-Star Weekend in Toronto.