Anthony combines will and skill

Carmelo Anthony had seen and heard enough.

He had had enough of the boos. Enough of the long faces in the locker room. Enough of hearing about how the Knicks were a better team before he arrived.

Most of all, he had had enough of the losing.

So eight hours before his finest hour as a Knick, he said exactly that. At the team's morning shootaround, he declared that Monday night's game was "almost a must win." And then he scored 39 points to lead the Knicks to a 113-106 overtime win over the Orlando Magic.

The victory ended a six-game losing streak. It also gave Knicks fans some hope that this team, which is 8-12 since the Anthony trade, isn't going to undergo a collapse of biblical proportions and miss the playoffs.

"We had a will to win," Anthony said. "We wanted a 'W' tonight and we went out there and got it. Our backs were all the way in the wall and we had to start with tonight's game.''

Anthony, who also had 10 rebounds, turned in an incredible all-around game. He scored 33 points after halftime, including 19 in the third quarter. Never known for his defensive prowess, he was intense on both ends of the floor, helping to set the tone of the game.

"Carmelo was on fire out there," Amar'e Stoudemire said. "They had no answer to him."

Chauncey Billups, who was Anthony's teammate in Denver and came with him to New York in the trade in late February, has seen him have plenty of big games before. Still, he couldn't help but be impressed by Anthony's performance.

"I've seen him score 40 and 50 before, and have clutch baskets all the time, but I just think tonight, he was so locked in," Billups said. "The kid was rebounding, he was all over the place, grabbing extra rebounds, doing extra-effort play, steals, blocked shots.

"You know that he just wanted to win this game. He was not going to let us lose this game, and when you get him focused like that on both ends, you are talking about maybe the best player in basketball."

Anthony's teammates had cause to be a little nervous entering the game, especially after Anthony's "must win" quote had been played over the sports-talk air waves all day. But Anthony said he had a feeling coming into the locker room that this game was going to be different.

"It was just an intensity. I felt it in the locker room, being with the guys,'' he said. "And there was an intensity we had running out. We were excited for this game."

Coach Mike D'Antoni had no problem with Anthony's "must win" declaration. Especially since it worked out.

Said D'Antoni: "I hope he does it more often."