Carmelo Anthony’s voice was shaky after this latest loss to the Miami Heat. He was asked what his emotions were on the bench in the final minutes of Thursday’s 108-82 rout, and Anthony said there were too many to “narrow it to one.’’
One thought that likely crossed Anthony’s mind is how the roster has abandoned him. It was never more evident that he’s all alone than in South Beach. That can’t be a good thing down the road for his free-agent future, not one bit.
If it weren’t for Anthony’s 24-point first half, the Knicks probably would’ve lost this game by 50. The no-shows in Miami were plentiful, perhaps frightened by LeBron James’ evil-looking black mask.
With Iman Shumpert and Andrea Bargnani still out with injuries, Anthony’s supporting cast needed to deliver. And it didn’t. Raymond Felton understandably played tight and harried and shot 1 of 7, finishing with two points, two turnovers and a few lousy passes that made his teammates reach too much. He claimed the gun charges would be no distraction, but he realizes all eyes are on him now and he didn’t respond.
Rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. has been a gem all season but got stage fright in his first game back in hometown Miami as a pro, with his father, Tim, watching from the Heat executive seats. Hardaway shot 2 of 15 — 0 for 8 from the 3-point line — and had a couple of driving shots blocked at the rim. As a kid, Hardaway would attend Heat practices, so guys like Dwyane Wade looked to be motivated.
“They had a lot to do with it,’’ coach Mike Woodson said.
Amar’e Stoudemire has been dismal since the All-Star Break, his sore left knee perhaps impacting him finally. He had a clumsy 2-of-6 contest and made no impact defensively. Since the All-Star break, Stoudemire’s been dreadful in the plus-minus category (minus-73). David Lee is in the house for Golden State on Friday night, the double-double machine who is another reminder how the Knicks’ six-year plan went wayward. The Knicks couldn’t let Lee sign with the Warriors fast enough so they could open up the cap space for two “max’’ stars.
Center Tyson Chandler put up big numbers on Thursday with 19 points and 16 boards but wasn’t the kind of dynamic help defender that thwarted the Heat in the 2011 Finals when he starred in Dallas and won a title. Zero blocks.
Anthony said that the 66 points in the paint that the Knicks allowed to LeBron James and Co. is way too much. Take that, Tyson.
Newly signed combo guard Shannon Brown was a live wire on offense, jacking up 7 shots, but didn’t look to be the perimeter defender Woodson is craving. The Knicks scored just 21 bench points in dropping their fourth straight game and are allowing 108.8 points during the losing streak. James and Wade combined to shoot 23 of 32, scoring inside and outside.
“We didn’t have good perimeter play,’’ Woodson said when asked about Felton’s dud game. “We’re going to need that if we want to get out of this hole we’ve [built].’’
Hole? It’s not a hole any longer — 5 ½ games out of the eighth seed with 24 to play. It’s a cavern, and Anthony looked ready to crawl in one after the embarrassing second half in Miami.