Carmelo Anthony pleased with Knicks win in London

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony has spoke of his joy of another win in London, after his side beat Detroit Pistons 102-87 at the O2 arena last night.

Anthony, who was the nights top‑scorer with 26 points, said it felt great to be back in London, after having left a gold medalist in the summer Olympics.

“It felt good out there,” Anthony said.

“The crowd was fantastic. It’s a sell-out crowd, there was great energy in the building and everybody has come out to support the New York Knicks, the NBA as a whole, the Detroit Pistons.

“I definitely had some flash backs running out on court.”

Thursday night’s game attracted a crowd of 18,689, and saw elite level basketball return to the capital for the first time since August’s Olympic final.

It was hoped the London Games would incite Britain to embrace the world’s second most popular team sport, but in December UK Sport announced it was cutting all funding from the national basketball teams ahead of the Rio Olympics.

NBA commissioner David Stern added his voice to the critics.

“Before the Olympics, basketball was being talked about as a sport being played in neighbourhoods in a country bemoaning the fact they had shut down so many playing fields,” he said.

“The decision confounded me.”

Stern was enthusiastic, however, about the reception the NBA has received in London, with last night being their 11th game here of any kind since 1993.

“The basketball fans are terrific,” he said. “Whatever the government may be doing in terms of the development of the youth game or potentially the elite level, we’re here, the Olympics were a great success, the Euroleague final four is coming and we couldn’t be happier.”