Credit: Jason Szenes/EPA
Carmelo Anthony made his long awaited return to the Garden as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder last night.
The fans greeted him with well-deserved cheers for the five-and-a-half seasons he spent donning the blue and orange, but Anthony looked a shell of his former self as the Knicks held him scoreless in the second-half en route to a 111-96 victory.
Hoodie Melo was nowhere to be found, but a new hero for the Knicks emerged — Hoodie Beasley.
Before the season started, Beasley spoke to reporters and stated that he was Melo on the left-side of the floor. When he made that statement, most Knicks fans scoffed at Beasley, but against the Thunder, he rose to the occasion and took his game to the former face of the franchise to let him know that the lefty version of him has arrived in the Big Apple.
Beasley dropped 30 points to lead a Porzingis-less and Hardaway-less Knicks team to victory. His full offensive arsenal was on display, and he showed the talent which made him the second pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Throughout his career, Beasley has been an enigma. One game, he’ll drop 30 on an opponent’s head, like he did against the Thunder and Rockets this season, then in the next game, he’ll play just 10 minutes and foul out, like he did against the Hawks last Sunday.
Despite his inconsistency, Beasley can be depended on to show up in unique circumstances.
Last night was supposed to be a celebration of Melo returning to the Garden, but Beasley crashed the party, with one of his best performances this season, to the delight of the Garden faithful.
Crashing parties seems like a very Beasley thing to do. After all, not everyone can use 11% of their brain function to question, and uncover, the mysteries of life.
