Baron Davis scored 13 points in his first start in place of Lin

Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points, his highest total in two months, and the New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 89-80, Monday night without injured Amare Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin to increase their lead for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

Shortly after learning Stoudemire was lost indefinitely with a bulging disk in his back, the Knicks opened a 2 1/2-game lead over the Bucks.

Baron Davis scored 13 points in his first start in place of Lin, who has a sore right knee. Tyson Chandler also had 13 and Iman Shumpert 11 as the Knicks overcame the absences of their second- and third-leading scorers.