OKLAHOMA CITY _ Carmelo Anthony, as anyone could tell, was anxious in his revenge game against the Knicks. Perhaps a little overeager.
After all, this was the franchise he felt "stabbed me in the back" in his final tumultuous season, leading to a messy divorce that culminated Thursday with his introduction at Chesapeake Energy Arena before the Thunder's 105-84 victory.
The start was rocky for Anthony. He buried his first 3-pointer, banging his head with the three-fingered celebration that had become commonplace for six years at the Garden. But then he missed five straight shots. He was outplayed all night by Kristaps Porzingis, who emphatically blocked his former teammate at the rim in the first quarter.
For much of the opening half _ with his wife LaLa sitting courtside _ Anthony looked like the letdown Phil Jackson complained about.
But here's the difference: the 33-year-old was playing for OKC, a team vastly superior to New York's cluttered and talent-starved construction. So even with Anthony struggling _ and even with Porzingis dropping a game-high 31 points with 11 rebounds _ the Thunder never trailed after early in the second quarter.
Anthony didn't have that luxury in New York.
By the time Anthony found a rhythm in the third quarter, the Thunder's lead ballooned to 20. When his emotional debut was over, Anthony had 22 points and the Knicks looked totally outmatched in a 105-84 defeat Thursday.
Anthony used the lead-up to the opener to further distance himself from the Knicks. On Wednesday, he vented about feeling betrayed and alienated by New York's front office. Just hours before tipoff, he tweeted, "You Watched Me Walk Through Hell. ...," which presumably was about his final tumultuous season with the Knicks.
But he embraced many of his former teammates, including Porzingis, as they lined up for tipoff. There was even a hug for Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek.
That display segued into a sloppy performance from both sides with 46 combined turnovers, typical of opening night. The difference was OKC had three stars _ Anthony, Paul George (28 points) and Russell Westbrook (21 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds). The Knicks only had one star _ Porzingis _ who hit 11 of his 24 shot attempts.
Tim Hardaway Jr., who represented New York's big free-agent signing, was a disappointment with just eight points on 3-of-10 shooting. After Porzingis, New York's leading scorer was Enes Kanter with 10 points.
Despite pushing the front office pushing a youth movement, Hornacek played rookie Frank Ntilikina sparingly and waited until garbage time to insert Willy Hernangomez. Ntilikina's cameo was a disaster with two airballs, zero points and one turnover in seven minutes.
The game essentially ended on the last play of the half, when George stole the ball from Hardaway Jr. and converted a dunk at the buzzer. A furious Hornacek, believing there was a foul on the steal, stormed the court and was assessed a technical. It became a five-point swing and a 12-point deficit that was insurmountable.
From there, it only snowballed. The Knicks couldn't keep up. That will be a recurring theme for New York while Anthony goes on to win more in OKC.
