Melo's 39 help Knicks end losing streak

Desperation turned into inspiration. And inspiration produced Carmelo Anthony's most impressive performance since he arrived in New York more than a month ago.

Anthony, who earlier in the day called the game a must win, scored 39 points to lead the Knicks to a 113-106 overtime win over the Magic Monday night at the Garden. It snapped their losing streak at six games and was their second win in 11 games.

"It was definitely a must win for us,'' said Anthony, who had 10 rebounds. "We showed from the first play of the game, just with the intensity that we had, everybody, the starters, the bench. We did a great job, especially on the defensive end.''

The Knicks put up a much more consistent defensive effort than they had in weeks, and Anthony was an unstoppable force on the offensive end. In the sort of trademark offensive explosion that Knicks fans have been waiting to see, loaded with his usual pump fakes and signature moves, Anthony had 33 points after halftime, including 19 in the third quarter.

When the buzzer sounded, Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire enjoyed a happy embrace. "Winning,'' said Stoudemire (20 points, nine rebounds), "always cures all problems.''

The Knicks (36-38, 8-12 with Anthony) reduced their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to four with eight games remaining.

Dwight Howard, swarmed all night by a physical Knicks defense, had 29 points and 18 rebounds for Orlando (47-27) but fouled out with 1:17 left in overtime on a questionable call as he went for a rebound against Chauncey Billups.

It prompted Quentin Richardson to scream from the Magic bench, "The fix is in!'' It's a dangerous allegation for an NBA player to make, especially after the Tim Donaghy investigation, but the Magic was furious about several calls in the game.

Orlando played without Jameer Nelson (sprained knee), who last week shredded the Knicks' defense, and Richardson (sore back), who has the ability to play tough defense against Anthony. Anthony had a much easier time with Hedo Turkoglu (18 points) and Earl Clark, who both fouled out.

Although the Knicks spent most of the night in the good graces of the fans, the game teetered on another heartbreak when, with the Knicks leading 100-97, Jason Richardson (24 points) drilled a tying three-pointer with 5.7 seconds left in regulation.

Although the Knicks had a very strong defensive game, this possession was one to question, as Jared Jeffries didn't foul -- Mike D'Antoni doesn't believe in the foul-up-three philosophy -- and didn't get a hand up to defend the deep shot.

On the final possession of regulation, Anthony -- known as one of the NBA's most effective closers -- missed a leaner but got the rebound, but his putback wasn't strong enough to get over the rim as the buzzer sounded.

"We just stuck with it in overtime,'' Anthony said. "We played hard. We played even harder than we did in regulation.''

Billups (17 points, six rebounds, six assists, no turnovers) hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 3:17 left in overtime and then threw a long outlet pass to Anthony for a dunk with 2:47 left that gave the Knicks a 108-104 lead. Toney Douglas added 16 points off the bench.

Shelden Williams played 16 minutes that showed little in the boxscore, but his strong effort against Howard earned him an ovation from the Garden crowd when he fouled out with 1:05 left in regulation. D'Antoni seems to be ready to commit regular minutes to Williams, who came from Denver as part of the Anthony trade.