NBA Preseason: Carmelo Anthony Scores 22 as Knicks Beat Wizards 98-89

New York Knicks beat Washington Wizards 98-89 in a match at Baltimore, which saw Carmelo Anthony score 22 points on his return to hometown.

Anthony was raised in the city as a kid and the majority of the capacity crowd cheered for him.

"The excitement was there, but I was just doing everything that I would do in any other game," Anthony said. "I was just playing my game and trying to have fun with it.It felt like a home crowd."

It was the first time since 1999 that Baltimore hosted an NBA game. The game drew a sell-out crowd of 12,376. For the Wizards, Nene missed his second straight game through injury. Bradley Beal top-scored for the franchise, with 21 points.

Coach Randy Wittman said he was delighted with Beal's performance which came after an explosive game against Miami Heat on Tuesday, where he scored 29 points.

"When we play and share the ball, it gets [Beal] good looks," Randy Wittman said. "When we get good looks, we usually knock them down."

Before the game, the focus was on Anthony. Anthony had mentioned that he would like to be a free agent. He can opt out of the final year of his contract next summer.

"I want to be a free agent," Anthony told The Observer. "I think everybody in the NBA dreams to be a free agent at least one time in their career." He added, "So yes, I want that experience." However, when asked about the comment later, Anthony backtracked and said that he wanted to stay with the Knicks and might decide to sign an extension.