Los Angeles (AFP) - Carmelo Anthony capped a tense week with a milestone night, pouring in 33 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 103-100 NBA victory over the Kings in Sacramento.
Anthony on Friday became the 29th player in league history to reach 23,000 points, taking his career total to 23,024.
His confident performance in the first game of New York's five-game Western Conference road swing came after Anthony said he was "caught off guard" by critical comments from Knicks president Phil Jackson.
Jackson told CBS Sports Network in an interview that aired on Tuesday that Anthony's tendency to hold the ball too long slows the team's offense.