David Zalubowski/Associated Press
Danilo Gallinari works the ball around Knicks forward James White. Gallinari was traded to Denver in 2011 as part of the deal for Carmelo Anthony.
DENVER — As it turns out, there are far worse things than being jeered mercilessly by 19,000 people who used to worship your every dribble, dunk and fadeaway. The boos and taunts? That much, Carmelo Anthony expected and perhaps even embraced in his first return to the city he rejected. That much was tolerable.
But Anthony's homecoming got worse with every minute, until the Knicks were staring at an unfathomable deficit, another worrisome knee injury and, finally, another crushing defeat.
The Denver Nuggets, the team Anthony revitalized and then spurned, dealt the Knicks a 117-94 pounding Wednesday, sucking all of the drama out of the evening and leaving the Knicks in a collective daze. And that was not even the worst of it.
Anthony is heading back to New York to have his troublesome right knee drained. He will miss Thursday night's game in Portland. Beyond that, his status is unclear. He could conceivably miss the final two games of this five-game trip as well.
Anthony has been dealing with stiffness and soreness in the knee for three weeks but until now had declined to have it drained. He took three games off last week in the hope that rest would be enough.
"I was just kind of being naïve to myself, just trying to psyche myself out and say, 'I can do it, I can do it,' " said Anthony, who left the game in the third quarter. "But you just come to a point where you just got to figure it out and get to the bottom of it and move on."
Tyson Chandler did not finish the game either, after sustaining a contusion to his left knee late in the first half. The Knicks are listing him as probable for Thursday's game, but Chandler hedged, saying he needed to see whether the knee swelled overnight.
This was hardly the triumphant return that Anthony envisioned after forcing the Nuggets to trade him to New York two years ago. Denver looked like the team worthy of the Broadway lights, while the Knicks looked like a dysfunctional mess.
The Knicks were being blown out long before halftime, and long before losing Chandler and Anthony to injury. The Nuggets beat them repeatedly in transition, leading by as many as 25 points in the first half and by 34 in the second half.
Anthony did not stay for the humiliation, checking out of the game with 9 minutes 45 seconds left in the third quarter with the Knicks trailing, 70-44. He finished with 9 points in 22 minutes.
Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, the two key players sent to Denver in the 2011 trade, combined for 40 points. Even Corey Brewer, who was sent to the Knicks in that deal but later reacquired by the Nuggets, had a better night than Anthony, scoring 10 points. The Nuggets racked up 62 fast-break points, often scoring within seconds after a Knicks basket.
"They were really good in pushing it," Coach Mike Woodson said, "and we were terrible in getting back."
A Knicks season that once looked so promising now looks frightfully fragile. They have slipped to third place in the Eastern Conference, at 38-24, and their lead in the Atlantic Division is down to a mere one and a half games over the Nets. They have lost the first two games of this trip, to Golden State and Denver, by a combined 52 points.
Beyond the sore knees, doubt has crept into the locker room.
"We got to check our heart right now," J. R. Smith said. "Are we going to come out and compete? Or are we just going to pack it in and go home? It's just that simple. I think we got to figure it out tomorrow, figure out who's going to be here and who's not."
Chandler and Smith both sounded the same alarm, questioning the Knicks' commitment to defense and their lack of ball movement on offense.
"Right now, we look like a bunch of individuals out there," Chandler said. "It's not fun."
In that respect, the Knicks were the polar opposite of the happy-go-lucky, free-flowing, ball-sharing Nuggets (44-22), who cruised to their 10th straight victory, improving to 29-3 at home.
In Anthony's absence, the Knicks were led by Iman Shumpert (20 points) and Smith (15 points).
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Nuggets 117, Knicks 94: Anthony Struggles as Knicks Fall to Nuggets
Dengan url
https://suporterfanatikos.blogspot.com/2013/03/nuggets-117-knicks-94-anthony-struggles.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Nuggets 117, Knicks 94: Anthony Struggles as Knicks Fall to Nuggets
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Nuggets 117, Knicks 94: Anthony Struggles as Knicks Fall to Nuggets
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar