1. Carmelo Anthony, 62 points: Jan. 24, 2014
On Jan. 24, 2014, against the then-Charlotte Bobcats, Carmelo Anthony delivered the highest modern-day scoring mark at Madison Square Garden. It exceeded LeBron James, Bernard King and clipped Kobe Bryant by one point.
Arguably Anthony’s best game, not just with the Knicks but in his NBA career, he shredded the Bobcats for 62 points and 13 rebounds on 23-for-35 shooting, which equated for 66.7 percent from the field. Add six 3-pointers, and it tallied up his output quickly.
More from All-Time Lists
- Ranking the 6 Worst Knicks starters of the Carmelo Anthony era
- 13 Players the New York Knicks held onto for too long
- 10 Biggest offseason blunders in New York Knicks history
- Ranking the 4 worst coaching hires in New York Knicks history
- Knicks all-time starting 5: Players who never reached playoffs in NY
Anthony dominated a team that didn’t have Kemba Walker available, and the Bobcats were below .500 at the time. So he worked over the likes of a young Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Gerald Henderson and Josh McRoberts, none of whom were standout players.
Still, it was a takeover night for ‘Melo, who played almost flawless basketball.
Most of the damage came in the first and third quarter, with seven made shots in each period, respectively.
These trended towards the trademark pull-up jumper from the 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year, who set off The Garden with each made basket, inciting play that rarely came about from a Knick.
No one to step into MSG has crossed this 62-point mark since. With the NBA’s rise in scoring, it would not be a surprise to see it at least matched over the next two-to-five years.