Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

With two superstars now surrounding him, it would be easy for Toney Douglas to focus more on fitting in.  So the New York Knicks reminded him it would be better if he tried to stand out.

Amare Stoudemire scored 24 points, Carmelo Anthony added 22, and the Knicks got a big effort from Douglas in a starting role in a 107-88 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night.

Douglas scored 24 points in place of an injured Chauncey Billups, outplaying slumping Hornets All-StarChris Paul in the point guard matchup.

“When you have players like myself and Carmelo who demand so much attention, the game seems to open up for guys like that, so he took advantage of it,” said Stoudemire, who like Anthony stressed to Douglas his importance and urged him not to change his game in deference to his All-Star teammates.

Shawne Williams finished with 16 points off the bench, 11 in the third quarter when the Knicks broke open the game.

Anthony was held below 25 points for the first time in his five games with the Knicks, but that’s only because he sat out the fourth quarter of New York’s sixth straight win over New Orleans, matching its longest current winning streak against any opponent.

Jarrett Jack scored 21 points and David West had 16 for the Hornets, who have lost three straight, six of eight and 12 of 16.

“I just think we didn’t have the fight that we’ve had this year. I had to address some things after the game personally with some guys. I’m not going to get to the summer time and have stones that are unturned,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “I cannot stomach guys that go out there and don’t play with passion and go out there and play afraid. That’s what I saw tonight.”

Paul had 10 assists but just four points on 2-of-7 shooting, following nights of 2-for-12 and 3-for-10 in the previous two losses.

“Nobody fears us right now,” Paul said. “We’re not playing with a lot of confidence, especially myself. It puts us in a tough situation night in and night out. We’re not playing the way we can.”

WRITTEN by STATS LLC and The Associated Press & FULL STORY HERE