SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, Tyson Chandler had 18 of his 22 in the second half, and the New York Knicks assumed control early in beating the Sacramento Kings 114-92 on Saturday night.

The Knicks didn’t miss starting forward Amare Stoudemire, their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer who sat out with a sprained left ankle. They got an unexpected lift from replacement Josh Harrellson, a rookie from Kentucky who made his first NBA start and had career highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds, and hit four 3-pointers.

In the team’s first three games, Harrellson had three points and five rebounds in 29 minutes.

New York (2-2) used a 15-0 run in the opening quarter to take a 35-20 lead. Toney Douglas scored nine points and had three of the Knicks’ six 3-pointers.

Landry Fields had 21 points and Chandler added seven rebounds for the Knicks, who had struggled offensively in losing their previous two games, but had a season-high point total against the Kings. Douglas had 17 points and eight assists.

Marcus Thornton had 14 points for the struggling Kings (1-3), who have lost three straight after defeating the Lakers at home to start the season. Both Jason Thompson and Tyreke Evans had 13 points. The Kings shot 35 percent from the field and made only 26 of 41 free throws.

With the Knicks getting contributions from many different players, Anthony was quiet early in the game and his first basket didn’t come until he made a driving layup midway through the second quarter.

Yet he still had 17 at halftime and the Knicks had a 14-point lead.

With the Knicks ahead by 13 points entering the fourth quarter, Chandler scored eight points in the opening three minutes, including two three-point plays. Chandler’s second one put New York ahead 88-70. The lead was 20 points or more for much of the fourth quarter.

Chandler was in foul trouble and barely a factor in the first half, playing four minutes. However, the veteran center made all six free throws and had eight points in the third quarter in helping the Knicks take a 78-65 lead into the fourth.

Anthony scored 15 points and Harrellson had 11 in the opening half, when the Knicks led 56-42. The Kings shot 33 percent as their offensive problems continued.

Notes: Knicks reserve forward Jared Jeffries missed his third straight game with a sore right calf. . The Chicago Bulls also had a 15-0 first-quarter run against the Kings in Thursday’s game. . Free throws continue to be a problem for Evans, who has made 13 of 27 this season. . Knicks rookie center Jerome Jordan committed four fouls in his first seven minutes.

Learning at a morning shootaround that he would be making his first NBA start because teammate Amare Stoudemire was injured, New York Knicks rookie Josh Harrellson didn’t have a lot of time to be nervous.

And the rookie from Kentucky didn’t show it, either.

Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points and the Knicks got an unexpected 14 points and 12 rebounds from Harrellson in controlling the game early and cruising past the Sacramento Kings, 114-92 on Saturday night.

The Knicks didn’t miss starting forward Stoudemire, their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, who sat out with a sprained left ankle. All five starters had 14 points or more for New York, which took a 14-point lead into halftime and the lead never dipped below double digits in the second half as the Knicks snapped a two-game losing streak.

Tyson Chandler had 22 points and seven rebounds, and Landry Fields scored 21 points for the Knicks, who had struggled offensively in losing their previous two games, but had a season-high point total against the Kings. Toney Douglas had 17 points and eight assists, and Bill Walker added 11 points.

“When the ball is moving like that, you can see how successful we can be offensively,” said Fields, discussing the Knicks’ season-high 26 assists. “It’s a very nice win. Hopefully it brings us momentum going into our next game (Monday at home against Toronto).”

Harrellson connected on his first shot, a wide-open 3-pointer two minutes into the game. He added three more 3-pointers and clearly outplayed Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, his teammate for one season at Kentucky.

“I guarded him all season at practice, so I felt like I know DeMarcus’ game,” Harrelson said. “I thought I did a good job on my former teammate. I was trying to get him out of whack, get him out of his rhythm.”

There had been no rhythm offensively in the first three games for Harrellson, who had a combined three points and five rebounds in 29 minutes.

“It was very important for me to make that first shot and get my confidence going,” Harrellson said. “They had to come out and guard me and that opened things up and left other people open.”

New York (2-2) used a 15-0 run in the opening quarter to take a 35-20 lead. Douglas scored nine points and had three of the Knicks’ six 3-pointers.

“They were hitting big threes and executing and jumped on us and we were never able to crawl back in the game,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said.

Marcus Thornton had 14 points for the struggling Kings (1-3), who have lost three straight after defeating the Lakers at home to start the season. Both Jason Thompson and Tyreke Evans had 13 points. The Kings shot 35 percent from the field and made only 26 of 41 free throws.

Sacramento plays a home game against New Orleans on New Year’s night.

“This is a very disappointing loss because we had a very good practice (Friday), probably our best practice of the year,” Kings forward Chuck Hayes said. “But we came out like we don’t know how to carry it over. It’s discouraging.”

With the Knicks getting contributions from many different players, Anthony was quiet early in the game and his first basket didn’t come until he made a driving layup midway through the second quarter.

Yet he still had 17 at halftime and the Knicks had a 14-point lead. A rested Anthony finished with seven rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes, including just a two-plus minute stint in the fourth with the win secured.

“Our team is starting to pick up things in the offense that if we continue to do it, we can be successful,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “When you have a Carmelo with an Amare, it tends to open the floor even more. When the ball moves, our younger guys can get more involved.”

With the Knicks ahead by 13 points entering the fourth quarter, Chandler scored eight points in the opening three minutes, including two three-point plays. Chandler’s second one put New York ahead 88-70. The lead was 20 points or more for much of the fourth quarter.

Chandler was in foul trouble and barely a factor in the first half, playing four minutes. However, the veteran center made all six free throws and had eight points in the third quarter in helping the Knicks take a 78-65 lead into the fourth.

“From the beginning of the game until the end, we just looked lost,” Evans said. “We just play off our natural talent and that’s how we get our points. It’s terrible right now and we’ve just got to figure something out.”

Anthony scored 15 points and Harrellson had 11 in the opening half, when the Knicks led 56-42. The Kings shot 33 percent as their offensive problems continued.

Notes: Knicks reserve forward Jared Jeffries missed his third straight game with a sore right calf. . The Chicago Bulls also had a 15-0 first-quarter run against the Kings in Thursday’s game. . Free throws continue to be a problem for Evans, who has made 13 of 27 this season. . Knicks rookie center Jerome Jordan committed four fouls in his first seven minutes.

The New York Knicks have a tough game against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night (Dec. 31). Currently the Knicks are on a two-game losing streak and may have to play without power forward Amare Stoudemire. I wrote about how the Stoudemire injury could become a good thing for the Knicks if it is just a short-term thing, but it’s definitely tough to play without one of the two best players on the roster.

It’s very unclear what coach Mike D’Antoni will do if he doesn’t have Stoudemire in the starting lineup, but it could mean a chance for Bill Walker to step in at power forward. He is certainly a bit undersized at 6-6 and 235 pounds, but we aren’t talking about a team with a lot of depth. The other option is to give rookie Josh Harrellson that chance to get some big minutes for the night. I like the latter option because Harrellson has really good energy on the floor.

The starting lineup for the Kings is Tyreke Evans at point guard, Marcus Thornton at shooting guard, John Salmons at small forward, Chuck Hayes at power forward and DeMarcus Cousins at center. Through three games for the Kings, Thornton leads them in scoring with 20.3 points per game, followed by Evans and Cousins with 14.3 each. Both Hayes and Cousins average more than 10 rebounds per game, so the front line of New York is going to have their hands full. Providing energy off the bench are guard Jimmer Fredette and power forward J.J. Hickson, two players that go all-out every night.

The Kings are 1-2 (just like the Knicks through the first three games and average just 92.3 points per game. They also give up 100 points per game, which should allow the Knicks plenty of opportunities to score. New York is getting out-scored this year as well though, to the tune of 98.3 to 88.7, ranking the Knicks as the sixth lowest-scoring team in the NBA. The team is also the worst rebounding team at just 31.3 per game, so going up against a team packed with good big men could pose a problem on Saturday night.

The Kings aren’t as good as the two teams that New York has lost to this week, but this is also a team that should not get underestimated. Tyson Chandler has to stay busy on the offensive glass and it’s worth noting that he has just 6 total shots through the first three games. Carmelo Anthony needs to have a big game and the guards have to start hitting shots. The open three-pointers that the Knicks miss are really starting to add up and the team has gone just 19-for-63 from long-range in the first three games.

The game plan is simple on Saturday, even if it isn’t simple to carry out. The Knicks have to work the inside-outside game, make at least 45 percent of their three-pointers and keep the Kings from getting too many fast-break points. Evans and Fredette like to run and the Knicks guards have to put a body on them.

The Knicks play the Sacramento Kings at Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET.

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Sources:

Full Knicks Schedule

New York Knicks Website

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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