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Melo (and his owners) had good reason to smile last night. (thisismelo.com)

[Read the full post at DimeMag.com]

Beast of the Night: Carmelo Anthony posted 34 points, three rebounds, five assists, one steal and hit four three-pointers last night. He shot 75 percent (12-16) from the field, 100 percent (6-6) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. This was a nice bounce-back game after shooting just 33 percent from the field on Sunday. Anthony’s stats have remained mostly steady since his transition into a Knicks uniform, with improvements in threes made and points per game.

Lines for Discussion:
Boris Diaw: 8-13 FG (62%), 1-2 FT (50%), 2 threes, 19 Pts, 8 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO

Al Jefferson: 17-26 FG (65%), 2-3 FT (67%), 36 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO

Mike Conley: 9-20 FG (45%), 2-2 FT (100%), 20 Pts, 2 Reb, 9 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk

Samuel Dalembert: 4-12 FG (33%), 8 Pts, 12 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Blk, 1 TO

Waiver-Wire Watch:
Eric Bledsoe, Gerald Henderson, Ryan Anderson, Derrick Favors, Toney Douglas, Brendan Haywood, Jarrett Jack, Marco Belinelli, Tony Allen, Chase Budinger

Injuries:
Shaquille O’Neal (Achilles): said he should return to action in a week

Matt Carroll (ankle): day-to-day

Tyson Chandler (ankle): expects to play Wednesday

Luis Scola (knee): questionable tonight

Corey Maggette (knee): didn’t travel with the team Monday

Trevor Ariza (groin): day-to-day

Bill Walker (knee): day-to-day

Ronny Turiaf (knee): day-to-day

Chauncey Billups (quad): day-to-day

Channing Frye (shoulder): could miss 2-3 weeks

Reggie Evans (foot): status for Wednesday is “up in the air”

Andrea Bargnani (illness): monitor his status

Paul Millsap (knee): left Monday’s game early; monitor his status

Andrei Kirilenko (back): day-to-day

Jason Kapono (personal): day-to-day

DeMarcus Cousins (ankle): questionable for Wednesday