Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith each score 28 to lead Knicks past Nuggets

NEW YORK : One strong defensive quarter helped the New York Knicks end a seven-game skid.

New York held Denver to just one basket in the second quarter en route to a 109-93 victory over the Nuggets on Sunday.

The Nuggets missed their first 15 shots of the period before Ty Lawson's layup at the buzzer ended the nearly 13-minute drought. New York outscored Denver 31-8 in the quarter to blow it open.

"I thought probably defensively that was the difference in that quarter," Fisher said.

"We scored 31 points in the first quarter as well even though it may not have looked as pretty as it did in the second quarter but someway we found a way to hold them to eight points and I thought that was the difference in the game."

Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, who've had their shares of moments grasping the concepts of a new offensive system, each scored 28 points to lead New York. But the Knicks' first win since Nov. 2 against Charlotte boiled down to their defensive effort in the second quarter, which gave them a 62-39 lead heading into the second half.

"I thought in that second quarter we played great defense, buckling down, keeping them out of transition. It led to our offensive end," said Anthony, who made 10 of 14 shots from the field. "Once we got stops on the defensive end, we felt confident enough to go down there and make some shots and run our offense and do what we had to do."