"George Karl's office door swung open at 6:05 p.m., and there he was. Melo. He of the Melodrama. The man who forced his way to Manhattan, while shaking up a franchise's roster like he was making a Manhattan.

Nearly four hours later, Melo was forcing overtime. Carmelo Anthony swished a turnaround jumper with just 1.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie Saturday night's gargantuan game at Madison Square Garden, Melo's first against the Karl-coached Nuggets. But two overtimes later, Denver had a 119-114 victory thanks in part to a big 3-pointer from its own No. 7, Al Harrington.

Saturday's game will be one they'll talk about all season. Melo (25 points, 10-of-30 shooting) sent it to overtime. Then, with 0.3 of a second left in the first overtime, a wide-open Corey Brewer slipped under the basket for a potential winning tip-in — but Andre Miller's sideline inbound pass accidentally hit the rim and clanked away.

But the big-name Knicks were left with a 6-10 record. Denver (12-5), meanwhile, enjoyed a 4-0 sweep on this trip of four games in five days.

"I don't know if I've had four better (consecutive) wins in my career," Karl said. "All will help us with mental toughness, understanding our personality in close games.""