SACRAMENTO (AP) — Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points, J.R. Smith added 29 points and the New York Knicks held off a furious rally to beat the Sacramento Kings 107-99 Wednesday night and move a game closer to the final playoff seed.

A night after a lackluster 127-96 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers, the Knicks avoided a monumental collapse to another one of the Western Conference’s worst teams. New York led by 24 in the third quarter before Sacramento surged back, and the Knicks needed a scintillating shooting performance from Anthony and Smith to snap a two-game skid.

New York (30-42) is two games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference after the Hawks (31-39) lost 107-83 to Minnesota.

DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists to carry the Kings, who played without injured point guard Isaiah Thomas (bruised right quadriceps).

Ray McCallum made his first start in Thomas’ place alongside fellow rookie Ben McLemore. McCallum had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. McLemore scored 16.

New York outshot Sacramento 54.8 percent to 47.8 percent and finished 15 for 26 from 3-point range. Anthony was 12-for-21 for shooting, including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. Smith finished 10 for 19 from the floor and 9 for 12 from long distance.

About the only thing that kept the Kings close most of the night— besides Cousins — was free throws. Sacramento shot 27 for 35 on free throws, while New York finished 12 for 13.

Sacramento scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter and finished with a flurry of highlights to give the Knicks a scare.

Cousins’ three-point play over Amare Stoudemire trimmed New York’s lead to 96-94 with 4:30 remaining, sending most of the announced crowd of 15,494 roaring to their feet.

Smith answered with a 3-pointer, and Tyson Chandler came back with a dunk to put the Knicks up 101-94. After McCallum made two free throws, Anthony’s 15-footer with 1:36 to play sent a cluster of fans to the exits, and the rest soon followed.

The Knicks already assured themselves of a losing season with an embarrassing loss in Los Angeles on Tuesday night with new team president Phil Jackson in attendance. The former Lakers coach, a longtime nemesis of Kings fans, was nowhere to be found in Sacramento on this night.

Not that the Knicks needed Jackson’s presence to get by a rebuilding Kings team that is far from the franchise he often led the Lakers past in the playoffs during Sacramento’s glory years.

New York took control in the second quarter with 20-6 run highlighted by defense and dunks. Chandler capped the spurt with an alley-oop from Smith that put the Knicks up 54-38.

Anthony added two 3-pointers to extend New York’s lead to 74-50 with 6:17 remaining in the third quarter, slapping his headband with his fingers as he backpedaled on defense each time.

Sacramento scored 10 straight to give its frustrated home fans hope. Then Anthony answered with another 3 — followed by his headband celebration — to silence the crowd again.

McLemore made a 3-pointer and a short jumper, and Rudy Gay soared for a dunk as the Kings scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to slice New York’s lead to 86-80, setting up the frantic finish.

NOTES: The teams split the two-game season series, with each winning on the other’s home floor. ... The last time the Kings started rookies in the backcourt was when Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette started in a loss to Houston on April 8, 2012. ... New York’s five-game road trip resumes Friday at Phoenix. ... Sacramento begins a three-game trip at Oklahoma City on Friday.