It was a busted play that led to the winning shot for the New York Knicks, and Jose Calderon turned out to be the right guy in the right spot.
The 10-year veteran point guard hit a three-pointer with two-tenths of a second left after Carmelo Anthony was not able to get open as the Knicks pulled out a 90-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
“It was kind of a weird situation,” Calderon said after his only three-pointer of the game. “The play was supposed to go to Melo, but he could not get free. I grabbed the ball and there were not too many options out there, so I kind of got open for a minute and that was it. Sometimes when you are struggling a little bit, you make that important one.”
Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY
Anthony scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for New York. He shot 10 for 20 and had 12 rebounds.
“I wanted this one,” Anthony said. “Going back and forth just made it that much better. I am pretty sure we gave the fans what they paid to see out there tonight.”
Kobe Bryant had 14 points in his 29th and final head-to-head matchup in the regular season with Anthony.
LeBron James scored 27 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers buried the Los Angeles Clippers with three-pointers in a 114-90 victory, tying their season high with 18 from long range.
J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving added 17 points each, while Channing Frye had 15 on a season-high-tying five three-pointers for the Eastern Conference leaders.
J.J. Redick scored 19 points, while Chris Paul added 17 points and 10 assists for the Clippers. They outscored the Cavs 17-7 to start the game, but James tied it on a three-pointer and Tristan Thompson’s hook gave the Cavs the lead for good by the end of the quarter.
“We came out and took care of business,” James said. “We are getting into form right now. We have got a great rotation going right now. The guys are healthy and we are just trying to play the game the right way.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, nearly getting his fourth triple-double in the past 11 games by halftime, as Milwaukee defeated Brooklyn 109-100.
Jabari Parker added 23 points and Khris Middleton had 19 points to help the Bucks win their third straight game. Brook Lopez scored 20 points for the Nets.
Al Horford and Paul Millsap each scored 18 points and Kyle Korver added 14 as Atlanta used a blistering third quarter to rout Indiana 104-75.
The Hawks went on a 20-0 run and finished the third period with seven threes, the last coming by reserve forward Kris Humphries to make it a 34-point lead. Atlanta have won five of their past six.
Derrick Favors had 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Gordon Hayward scored 27 points in Utah’s 108-99 victory over Sacramento. DeMarcus Cousins had 31 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento in his return from being suspended for one game by the team.
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