NEW YORK -- Forgive the New York Knicks if they experienced nightmarish flashbacks to their last meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.

The final five minutes resembled many things from a one-point loss in Philadelphia on Jan. 11 decided on T.J. McConnell's buzzer-beater over Carmelo Anthony. There was the blown double-digit lead and a McConnell shot before Carmelo Anthony could defend it.

The difference was enough time existed for the Knicks to get the last shot and convert it, which they did when Anthony capped a 37-point night by hitting the go-ahead jumper with three-tenths of a second remaining as New York escaped Madison Square Garden with a 110-109 victory over Philadelphia.

"Luckily we had the last shot and Melo came through for us," New York guard Courtney Lee said.

The Knicks needed Anthony to convert the 11-footer from the left wing over Robert Covington because what was a 17-point lead in the third quarter and a 103-91 edge with 5:26 to play completely evaporated.

So instead of being able to relax, they needed Anthony to bail them out after the 76ers grabbed two offensive rebounds and Jahlil Okafor scored the final of his season-high 28 points on a four-footer through the lane with nine seconds remaining. Okafor's shot was made possible when Covington intercepted an errant pass by Lance Thomas and McConnell tipped the rebound of Dario Saric's layup towards Okafor.

The Knicks instantly called a timeout. Derrick Rose fed Anthony on the left wing and the forward used his left hand to gain some space before releasing the high-arching shot, which cleanly went through. Anthony was so excited about hitting the shot that he appeared to yell an expletive to express his jubilation at preventing a complete collapse.

"Just some space, a good look at the rim," Anthony said. "I think I jabbed him a little bit, he bit for it. Once I had that clear path, it was just a matter of me just getting the space that I want. At that point, it was just a matter of me making a shot."

Philadelphia had one more chance but never got a shot off and the game ended when Kyle O'Quinn inbounded Saric's inbounds pass from near the New York bench.

"He's so versatile," Covington said. "He has a very crazy skill set that he knows how to read defenders and it's just what he works on. He's just one of the hardest guys one-on-one to guard."

"You look at the shot he made with three-tenths on the clock, Robert is right there," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. "Robert is right there. That is Melo. He is a gifted isolation scorer."

Before Okafor's last shot, Philadelphia's last lead was late in the first quarter. The 76ers got it to one on two occasions before the brief lead, including on McConnell's 3-pointer with 1:27 left when Anthony was late to close out.

The only difference from Saturday and nearly two months ago was McConnell did not hit the game-winner like he did when he scored over Anthony at the buzzer for a 98-97 victory.

Before the near collapse in the final minutes, the Knicks gradually surged ahead. They took the lead late in the first quarter, led by 10 at halftime, 17 in the third quarter before settling for an 86-75 lead entering the fourth.

"We will take it," Anthony said. "We cannot let that happen. It was a similar situation to the first time we played them in Philly. Only thing is we hung on this time."

Anthony posted his 15th 30-point game of the season while Rose added 18 for New York, which played with Kristaps Porzingis (sprained left ankle).

Okafor came within three of his career high by scoring 11 in the fourth. Covington added 20 and 10 rebounds while Saric contributed 19 and 15 boards for Philadelphia.

NOTES: New York C Joakim Noah (sore left hamstring) missed his seventh straight game. Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said Noah re-injured it shortly into a conditioning drill right before the All-Star break when he drove to the rim. ... Newly acquired 76ers G-F Justin Anderson made his debut in the first quarter and played four minutes. ... Hornacek said the Knicks are running the triangle offense more than 50 percent of the time in an effort to improve defensive positioning. "There is more of (the triangle), I couldn't give you a percentage but it's definitely more," Hornacek said. Hornacek also said team president Phil Jackson was not involved in the decision. ... C Andrew Bogut (personal) was inactive for the second straight night and not with the 76ers, who are expected to negotiate a buyout with him. ... F Lance Thomas completed New York's fifth four-point play of the season in the second quarter.