CHICAGO – Carmelo Anthony sat out his second straight game tonight vs. the Bulls at United Center, saying his plan is to return vs. the Nuggets tomorrow.
Anthony has a bandaged middle left finger that took five stitches after he sliced it in the Charlotte win Wednesday. Melo took warm-ups shots before the game but indicated he had decided on Denver well before tonight.
Asked about the Denver showdown at the Garden, Anthony said, “Yeah, that’s my plan.’’
As he came off the court tonight during pregame, Anthony said as he signed autographs, “It needs a few more hours. It felt good for the most part.’’
The Knicks didn’t miss a beat without him in Miami, posting a 112-92 rout. “I’m very proud of my teammates to take on that challenge,’’ Anthony said.
“Nobody knew what was going to happen with me until right before the (Miami) game. When they found out, they were enthused about that game.’’
Anthony said he was gung-ho about giving it a try in Miami but “(Tyson) and Jason Kidd pulled me up and told me it was the best for me to do.’’
“ It was a matter of me saying forget it, it’s Miami and we’ll see them two more times,’’ Anthony added.
Melo still faces a challenge tomorrow against George Karl’s swarming defense that will be superpumped. Melo demanded a trade out of Denver during the 2010-11 season. “I think right now is the comfort level of driving, dribbling getting through the first time of getting hit, first time getting a hard pass, getting past that,’’ Anthony said.