1. Carmelo Anthony makes history
The 2013-14 season was a disappointing one for the Knicks. Coming off 53 wins the previous year, expectations were still pretty high. After a very slow start early on, the best case scenario was just qualifying for the playoffs.
Standing at 15-27 in late January, the Knicks faced off against the then-Charlotte Bobcats in what was supposed to be just another game right in the middle of the long season.
Carmelo Anthony had different plans, cementing himself among former legends of the orange and blue, dropping a franchise and MSG record 62 points on an incredibly efficient 23-of-35 from the field in a 29 point beat-down.
Anthony has always been a polarizing figure in the NBA. Blessed with an incredible gift, he’s a sure-fire Hall of Famer and one of the games best scorers.
However, he’s never really shown a willingness to do the other things it takes to win at the highest level, and that’s shown by his lack of postseason success.
This maddening style was very clear during Anthony’s time in New York, where he’d fill up the scoring column on a near nightly basis, but it never really translated too much in the win column. This created a divide among those who still believed he could lead the Knicks to great things and those who wanted him out of town ASAP.
On that frigid Friday evening, nobody really seemed to care. History was made. The highest scoring game at The Garden finally belonged to a Knick after Kobe Bryant’s 61 points hung over the court for half a decade. Anthony had made his mark on one of the most iconic teams in the league.