NEW YORK (AP) — Carmelo Anthony is back in the starting lineup after a two-game absence, starting for the New York Knicks against his former team, the Denver Nuggets.

Anthony needed stitches for a cut on the middle finger of his left hand Wednesday in a victory at Charlotte, then sat out a victory at Miami the next night and a loss to Chicago on Saturday.

Anthony is third in the NBA with 26.4 points per game. He spent the first 7½ seasons of his career in Denver before telling the Nuggets he wanted out, and they dealt him to the Knicks in February 2011.