National Basketball Association

New York parties as Anthony debuts

Published Feb. 23, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

After weeks of ’Melodrama, ’Melomania has hit New York.

And it has hit hard: Tickets outside Madison Square Garden were fetching hundreds of dollars, and it seemed like the whole city was clad in hot-off-the-presses No. 7 jerseys.

Knicks fans roared when Carmelo Anthony jogged on to the court for the first time and again when he made his first layup — in warmups. But what shook the sold-out house was the introduction of the starting lineup. Instead of coming off the bench as usual, they trotted out from their locker-room tunnel in a show complete with flashing colored lights and a smoke machine.

Yes, New York threw one helluva homecoming party Wednesday night.

To show their thanks, Anthony and his new teammates dusted off the Milwaukee Bucks, 114-108.

“It’s a dream come true for me, and I’m ready to rock,” Anthony said.

Before the game, Anthony made like LeBron James discussing how New York was his desired destination.

“We came up with this decision that New York was the place to bring my talent,” he said. “The decision I made was based on myself and based on my family.”

But that’s the same city that has chewed up and spit out athletes who play at The World’s Most Famous Arena (see: Stephon Marbury). As photographers snapped shots of Anthony’s family, including wife LaLa Vasquez — whose newest VH1 reality show was announced Wednesday — his son Kiyan covered his eyes.

Anthony doesn’t think he'll shy away from the pressure or the press.

“It takes a certain kind of person to deal with New York City,” he said. “For me to deal with you guys on a daily basis, I think it’s easy. I'm willing to accept all the challenges.”

The arrival of Anthony and Chauncey Billups coincided with the Knicks Legends Night, which honored the elated fan-favorite alumni.

“Man, the music sounded good today coming to work. I thought I was coming to play,” Hall of Famer and Knicks TV analyst Walt Frazier said. “Look at this turnout. What other player can do this other than LeBron James?”

That's exactly what fans paid through the nose to see. Tickets on StubHub.com soared in price earlier Wednesday, ranging from more than $170 for nosebleed seats to a bank-breaking $10,000 for courtside seats. A typical seat halfway up the bowl in the 200 section — that usually goes for about $100 — was being offered for at least two-and-a-half times that amount.

The scalpers around the Garden followed suit — even tickets in the highest section were being offered for $200 a pop. One offered a bargain, a seat in the 200s at center court — for $250.

And that’s the price for a franchise’s revival.

Just ask the team’s assistant to the president, Allan Houston, who once graced the Garden court and tried to explain why the prospect of Anthony succeeding has more than just the five boroughs abuzz.

“When you have that type of impact in this building wearing that Knick uniform, it’s a ripple effect,” he said. “It affects the environment, the atmosphere, the league in certain intangible ways that people in other markets would only touch.

“New Yorkers are sticking their chests out again.”