Nuggets at Knicks final score: Carmelo Anthony leads New York in 117-90 blowout win over Denver

The New York Knicks haven’t had many “easy” victories this season, but on Friday night, they thumped the Denver Nuggets by a 27-point margin in Madison Square Garden. Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points in only 33 minutes of court time for the Knicks, and as a result of that outburst, he was able to rest for the duration of the 4th quarter as the Knicks cruised to a 117-90 win.

In support of Carmelo (who was fantastic throughout the night against his former team), the New York bench stepped up in a big way. Four members of the Knicks’ reserve corps scored in double-figures, and former high school standout Jeremy Tyler actually put up a 12-points, 11-rebound double-double in only 22 minutes. Amar’e Stoudemire had one of his better games of the year with 17 points and 8 rebounds, and even the much-maligned JR Smith had a nice night with 13 points in 24 minutes.

For the Nuggets, the road continues to be unkind. Denver’s road mark is now just 10-13 on the season, and while that isn’t as bad as it may seem, the Nuggets have flashed a propensity to succumb to blowout losses away from home this season. If there was a bright spot, it was yet another good night from Ty Lawson (24 points, 7 assists), but aside from his consistent excellence, it was an ugly showing.

The Knicks have a long way to go to climb out of the hole that their 20-30 record has placed them in, but Friday night did provide a small flash of what things could look like moving forward.