NBA

Carmelo shouting match could move Shumpert closer to exit

A shouting match with Carmelo Anthony and rookie Tim Hardaway Jr.’s breakout game may have pushed Iman Shumpert closer to the door.

Hardaway is fighting for playing time with Shumpert, who got into a heated rant with Anthony on the Knicks bench during a third-quarter timeout. Anthony didn’t look at him as Shumpert raved. Shumpert, who was then benched for the fourth quarter of the 103-99 loss to the Pelicans, called his tiff with Anthony “a miscommunication’’ on defense.

“Of course I wanted to play,’’ Shumpert said. “Tim was making shots. J.R. [Smith] had it rolling. We were just trying to get a win.’’

Hardaway had his career night statistically, but said he didn’t have a good performance.

Humble to a fault, Hardaway shrugged off his 21-point night in which he made 5 of 8 3-pointers, including three straight early in the fourth, celebrating by wildly swinging his arm.

“It was an energy game but on top of that, I don’t think I played very well,’’ Hardaway said. “ I’ve got a long way to go on the defensive end and I really want to focus on that.’’

Hardaway banged in three 3-pointers to start the fourth, keeping Shumpert on the bench. But Hardaway’s perfect evening was shattered when he back-ironed a potential game-tying 3 with 21 seconds left. Raymond Felton snatched the loose-ball rebound, but Anthony bricked another 3-pointer.

“Tim gave us a big night off the bench,’’ Anthony said. “He knocked down shots when he was open.’’

Anthony declined to talk about Shumpert, who has been on the trading block since the middle of last month. Trades usually pick up Dec. 15, because free agents signed over the summer and draft picks can be dealt.


Woodson isn’t changing his philosophy on whether Anthony should always be first option on final shots even though he is starting to lose his way as a closer. Anthony is now one for his last 16 on potential game-tying or game-winning shots in the final 30 seconds of games. Sunday night Anthony missed a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left and the Knicks down three points.

“You got to look at where the shot is coming from, where it is,’’ Woodson said before the game when discussing Anthony’s last-second miss Friday in Denver. “A lot of his shots he’s taking are good shots. Shots that he’s made. We don’t have a number of guys we’ve put in that position — J.R. has been put in that position where he’s made big shots. [Jason] Kidd made a few big shots [last season]. You want the ball in your best player’s hands, knowing he’s going to get a good shot for you. You’re going to live with that. Most teams want to put the ball in their best player’s hands and hope for the best.

“If he’s double-teamed I like to think he’s going to get rid of it to somebody sitting there open. I’m not fighting the fact he’s not come through.’’


Woodson ranted before the game about the Knicks need to start knocking down open 3s. They had a big first three quarters before going wayward in the final few minutes. They shot 13 of 35 for a .372 percentage, better than the 31 percent clip with which they entered the night. Woodson, however, said the team started settling for 3s too much in the fourth. They took a whopping 16 in the quarter, making six.

“One thing glaring this year, we haven’t made the long ball,’’ Woodson said before the game. “We were 1 of 11 in the Denver game [Friday] at halftime. We went back, examined the tape afterward. We had great looks. We’re just not making them. We just got to get guys confidence to where they are starting to make them again. It’s a big key to our offense.’’