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NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony's preferred method of rest in the fourth quarter would be a big enough lead so he can relax and enjoy the rewards of a big win. On Wednesday, his rest occurred as the New York Knicks were pulling off a fourth-quarter comeback while playing their third game in four nights and with how it was unfolding, Anthony was content to be a spectator.
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Anthony enjoyed his rest in the fourth even more when Kristaps Porzingis scored 12 of his 19 points and the Knicks rallied for a 95-90 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night at Barclays Center.
"I didn't think about it," Anthony said. "I was just in the moment going with the flow. I looked one time, it was five minutes (left), ain't no way I'm going back in there. These guys had it rolling. There was no need for us to go back in there and break up what they had going on."
For three quarters, it was a rough night for Anthony and the rest of the Knicks. After playing nearly 90 minutes in the previous two games, Anthony never developed an offensive flow and finished with 15 points while shooting 6-of-22 from the floor.
Instead he watched Porzingis, rookie Willy Hernangomez, Sasha Vujacic, Justin Holiday and Brandon Jennings do the heavy lifting down the stretch of New York's sixth win in the last 22 games since Dec. 22
Porzingis made 4 of 6 shots in the fourth and Hernangomez scored 14 of his 16 points in the final 12 minutes. Vujacic added half of his 12, Jennings, who was 1-of-11, added three assists and Holiday contributed five points.
"I think the adrenaline helped in those moments," said Porzingis, who sat out Tuesday with a stomach virus. "You don't even think about it you're tired. You just keep going. At that point, we had to give our all and that was the only thing on my mind."
Anthony was 3-of-10 in the third when the Knicks began cutting into the deficit. Shortly after entering the fourth trailing by only five, the Knicks quickly fell behind by double digits but then they gradually came back.
"He just looked like he was a little bit tired," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. "Those other guys were playing well together. When those guys get in there, together, they've had some good stretches before.
"Usually about the six-minute mark, you're going, if I sit Carmelo any longer the stiffness will probably start to set in. Then I decided that these guys out there were playing well so let's just let them go."
The Knicks trailed by 10 early in the fourth but ripped off 10 straight points following a timeout. They took their first lead at 79-78 with 5:44 remaining when Porzingis coasted in untouched for a cutting dunk.
New York held a pair of six-point leads before Bojan Bogdanovic made it an 87-84 game by hitting a 3-pointer with 82 seconds left. Hernangomez then tipped in his miss with 54 seconds left and Porzingis clinched it when he hit a 3-pointer that rattled around the hoop before going in with 32.7 seconds left.
The Nets dropped their seventh straight and blew a double-digit lead to the Knicks for the second time this season. They shot 7 of 24 and committed five of their 21 turnovers in the fourth.
"They picked up their intensity, picked up their heat, picked up their heat on the ball," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We turned it over, we didn't get the type of shots we wanted and then I thought they started getting second and third shots. It's tough to give any team in the NBA multiple shots at the rim."
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the Nets with 16 points but missed all four shots down the stretch. Bogdanovic added 14 but Brook Lopez was held to 10 and shot 4-of-11.
"They hit some big shots and I think we were working hard," Lopez said. "They definitely made a lot of opportunity off their second chances throughout the game and that was definitely the key in the last five minutes down the stretch."
NOTES: Nets G Jeremy Lin (strained left hamstring) participated in early pregame shooting by taking contested 3-pointers and other shots roughly two hours before the opening tip. ... Knicks G Derrick Rose (sprained left ankle) missed his third straight game. Coach Jeff Hornacek said he expects Rose to practice Friday and believes he will play Saturday against Cleveland. ... New York F Lance Thomas (fractured left orbital) saw a specialist Wednesday afternoon. ... Asked about the Nets trying to reach popularity levels of the Knicks, coach Kenny Atkinson said: "We're off-Broadway right now. We're trying to get on." ... The Nets used their 21st starting lineup as F Trevor Booker and G Spencer Dinwiddie were replaced by F Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and G Isaiah Whitehead, respectively.
