Wizards head to MSG to take on the Knicks
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(SportsNetwork.com) - Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks go for a third straight win at home when they take on the Washington Wizards Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks opened a brief homestand with Saturday's 111-106 victory over the Atlanta Hawks and were led once again by Anthony, the league's second-leading scorer with 26.0 points per game. Anthony scored 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting and knocked down 3-of-5 3-pointers. He is averaging 30.0 ppg in his last four games for New York, winners in two of three games.
Andrea Bargnani had 23 points and rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 13 off the bench in a winning effort.
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New York shot 50.6 for the game and scored 36 points off 27 Atlanta turnovers.
"We made shots tonight. We shared the basketball. We did it on the defensive end," said Anthony. "Everybody committed themselves, put that game behind us from last night and bounced back so today was a great win for us."
Anthony has led the team in scoring in all 23 games this season.
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The Knicks are 4-8 at MSG this season. Forward Kenyon Martin (abdomen) is questionable versus the Wizards and missed Saturday's game.
Washington has lost four in a row and will begin a four-game road trip Monday against New York, Brooklyn, Boston and Minnesota. The Wizards are 3-8 on the road this season.
The Wizards dropped a 113-97 decision to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, as John Wall finished with 24 points and 12 assists. Kevin Seraphin chipped in 16 points, while Martell Webster and Trevor Booker each netted 12 points in a losing effort.
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"We tried a lot of different things on Chris (Paul) tonight and he was pretty good," said Wizards head coach Randy Wittman. "Every time we made that push, Chris kind of took things into his hands and controlled the game."
Wall is averaging 20.6 points, 10.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game in his last five games. Ariza is averaging 16.2 points in his past nine since returning from a hamstring injury.
Wizards forward Nene (foot) is listed as questionable Monday and has missed the last three games.
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Washington defeated the Knicks in the first meeting of the season, 98-89, on Nov. 23 at the Verizon Center. The Knicks, though, are 16-4 in the previous 20 matchups between the teams and have won 10 straight and 17 of the last 19 as the host in this series.