Carmelo Anthony returned from a two-game absence with a sprained left ankle to score 31 points and power the New York Knicks past the Brooklyn Nets 100-86 on Wednesday in a matchup of NBA rivals.

Anthony injured his ankle in a fall last week in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers and sat out last Saturday's victory over Cleveland and a 109-96 home loss on Monday to former teammate Jeremy Lin and the Houston Rockets.

Tyson Chandler added 16 points and 12 rebounds for New York while J.R. Smith scored 19 points in support of Anthony, who made 12 of his 22 shots.

The Nets led 61-57 before the Knicks closed the third quarter with an 18-6 run to seize a 75-67 advantage.

"Right now we're playing in a great rhythm," Anthony said. "Guys are trusting each other, making the extra pass, and we're making some great shots."

New York's defense kept the Nets to 38 points in the second half.

"The last couple games, we thought we had been slipping on defense," Anthony said. "We did it tonight on defense. We locked down in the second half and got some points and we won."

AFP