NEW YORK _ Carmelo Anthony couldn't miss in the second quarter, but with the game on the line he couldn't convert, and he didn't even take a shot on the last possession.
No Knick did.
Trailing by three, Anthony had the ball. He drove and threw it to Courtney Lee in the corner. He passed up the open 3-pointer, and threw it to Brandon Jennings who had the ball slapped out of his hands.
The Knicks suffered another tough loss, falling 113-110 to the Wizards on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
After falling behind by 14 with 7:52 left in the game, the Knicks charged back to take a 110-109 lead with 48.4 seconds left after Derrick Rose scored inside. But John Wall scored the game's last four points to send the Knicks (19-25) to their 12th loss in the last 15 games.
Anthony _ who seemed to be set off by someone in the stands _ set a franchise record for points in a quarter when he scored 25 in the second. But he had just nine the rest of the way to finish with 34. He was 2-for-12 after halftime, and missed a go-ahead jumper with 18.9 seconds that led to a breakaway Wall dunk.
Rose had 20 points and Kristaps Porzingis 15 off the bench in his return after a four-game absence due to a sore left Achilles. An MRI revealed no structural damage so Porzingis was cleared to play.
Wall led Washington to their seventh win in eight games with 29 points and 13 assists. He made two free throws with 32.6 seconds left to give Washington a 111-110 lead. Otto Porter Jr. added 23 points.
Porzingis helped spark the Knicks' run in the fourth quarter. He sprinted up the court and threw down a putback dunk after Courtney Lee's missed 3-pointer in transition to bring the Knicks within 104-97 with 6:28 left.
After two Porter foul shots, Anthony finally made a basket. He had missed his first six shots of the second half before scoring inside with 5:25 to go. He was fouled on the play but couldn't convert the three-point play.
The Knicks were down 107-101 after a Wall free throw, but Brandon Jennings knocked down a 3-pointer to cut it to three with 3:03 to go. Following a Wall drive that made it 109-104, Rose scored inside. On the next trip Anthony was fouled inside and made both to cut it to 109-108 with 1:37 to go.
The Knicks hoped that Wednesday's win in Boston would be a turning point. But the spirit and effort they played with for most of that game was missing in the first quarter.
The Wizards were quicker, more aggressive and faced little resistance. They shot 63 percent, scored 38 points and led by as many as 13. But the game changed in the second quarter as Anthony started cooking, helping the Knicks to a 40-point quarter.
After scoring just two points in the first quarter, Anthony got rolling, and was possibly motivated after someone heckled him from the stands.
Following his second basket, a 3-pointer, Anthony was talking and looking into the crowd near midcourt. That continued after his next few baskets, and he hit more than a few. Anthony shot 10-for-12 in the second quarter en route to his 25 points.
Anthony scored six straight baskets for the Knicks and 16 consecutive points overall in a dizzying shooting display that had the crowd buzzing. But the Knicks were still down 53-45 after Anthony's one-man show.
The Knicks finally made some stops after that and tied the score at 59 on Justin Holiday's fast-break dunk with 2:51 left. Fittingly, it was Anthony who gave the Knicks their first lead since 2-0. He hit a three-pointer with 27.9 seconds left in the half to make it 67-66.
Anthony cooled off after halftime and the Knicks went back to playing lackluster defense in the third quarter, letting Porter play the role of Anthony.
Porter was Anthony's defensive assignment and he came up short at that end of the court. Porter made four 3-pointers and had a three-point play as he outscored the Knicks 15-12 over the first 8:28 of the third.
On the other end, Anthony, didn't have a field goal in the third. He was 0-for-4 with one point.
Anthony misfired on a 3-pointer on the first possession of the third quarter. He also missed a jumper, layup and a short bank shot inside. Anthony scored his only point of the third with 3:48 left when he went one of two from the foul line.
The Knicks were outscored 34-19 in the third, and were down 100-86 at the start of the fourth.
