Derek Fisher already knows his team can put up points considering it has one of the league's most prolific scorers in Carmelo Anthony, so he's challenged the New York Knicks to apply more intensity on the defensive end.It has seemed to work so far as New York seeks a third straight victory when it hosts the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Anthony was held to 14 points in a season-opening 104-80 loss to Chicago, but he netted 16 of his 25 in the second half of a 95-90 win over Cleveland on Thursday before scoring 18 of his 28 after the break in Sunday's 96-93 victory over Charlotte.
He hit the go-ahead basket with 1:23 remaining after becoming the sixth-youngest player to reach 20,000 career points earlier in the contest.
"I never thought I would be here actually talking about me reaching that milestone," Anthony said. "I'm definitely humbled by this experience. I got more to go."
Perhaps most impressive during the last two games, though, has been the Knicks' ability to step up defensively. They forced LeBron James into eight turnovers, then held the Hornets to 13 fourth-quarter points.
"Their effort in just trying to do what we're asking them to do is really high," Fisher said. "Even though we are making some mistakes, we are still making it hard for teams to score in a lot of situations."
Another solid defensive performance could be necessary against a Washington team that is getting contributions from some unlikely sources as Bradley Beal continues to recover from a broken wrist.
Garrett Temple has started each game for the Wizards (2-1) in place of Beal and scored 12 points in Thursday's 105-98 win over Orlando before finishing with a career-high 18 in Saturday's 108-97 victory over Milwaukee.
Paul Pierce was ejected just before halftime against the Bucks, giving Otto Porter Jr. the chance for big minutes. Porter played the entire second half and finished with a career-high 21 points.
"We gave the game ball to Paul," coach Randy Wittman joked, as the ejection allotted minutes for Porter. "(Otto) played solid. He played 24 (minutes) and Garrett played 24. I just thought those two together were playing so well."
Washington, which hasn't won three of its first four since 2005-06, is getting production from its regular contributors as well. Nene scored 22 points, Marcin Gortat had 20 and John Wall had 19 with 10 assists and five steals -- his third straight game with double-digit assists.
The Wizards' starters outscored Orlando and Milwaukee by a combined 171-117.
"Our first unit got after it pretty good," Wittman said Saturday. "When those guys are playing well down low and you get concerned about double teams, it opens it up for dribble penetration. That's John. We had 28 assists. That's who we are. We move the ball well."
The Wizards will be looking for another solid defensive effort as well after holding Milwaukee to 42.5 percent shooting and forcing 28 turnovers, especially without the player responsible for the last two victories of a three-game sweep over the Knicks last season.
Beal hit a layup in the final seconds to give Washington a 102-101 win Dec. 16 before his jumper with 23 seconds remaining gave the Wizards a 90-89 victory April 4.
Wall, who is averaging 25.8 points in the last four meetings with New York, had 31 and seven assists in a 98-89 win Nov. 23. Anthony was held to 10 points on just 5 of 14 shooting in the most recent meeting.
J.R. Smith averaged. 21.7 points -- hitting 16 of 34 3s -- against the Wizards last season.
