Basketball: Carmelo Anthony on golden form for the New York Knicks in London

New York Knicks beat Detroit Pistons 102-87 at the O2

New York Knicks' forward Carmelo Anthony (2nd L) tries to block the ball as Detroit Pistons' guard Will Bynum (C) goes to the hoop (GETTY IMAGES)

Carmelo Anthony returned to the scene of his Olympic gold medal heroics to score 26 points tonight and lead the New York Knicks to a 102-87 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Anthony scored 18 in the first half at London's O2 Arena, as the Knicks jumped to a 16-2 lead before holding a double-digit advantage for most of the game. Amare Stoudemire added 17 points for the Knicks and J R Smith scored 16. Will Bynum led the Pistons with 22 points.

Anthony and Tyson Chandler were on the team that celebrated gold for the United States with a win over Spain in August. Chandler scored 10 points last night and pulled down 14 rebounds.

Anthony has now scored at least 20 points in 25 straight games, extending the longest such streak of his career. He is among the leading contenders for this year's Most Valuable Player.

The Pistons were the "home team" in London, but were outclassed by the Knicks. It was the third regular-season NBA game played at the O2, where the then-New Jersey Nets swept the Toronto Raptors in a pair of games two years ago.