MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There may no longer be a body part left for Carmelo Anthony to injure during this lockout-rushed regular season.
In a discouraging setback last night at FedEx Forum, the Knicks forward sprained his right wrist, then sprained his right ankle, sat out nearly the entire second half and likely won’t be healthy enough for tomorrow’s game in Oklahoma City.
If Anthony misses a couple of games, it is doubtful the already struggling Knicks offense survives without him.
“When it rains, it pours,’’ Anthony said.
With Anthony hurt, a lifeless Amar’e Stoudemire in foul trouble and rookie point guard Iman Shumpert finally careening out of control, the Knicks were blown out, 94-83, shattering their four-game winning streak. The Knicks, who fell behind by 25 points late in the third quarter, dropped to 6-5.
The Knicks are listing Anthony as day-to-day, but Anthony sounded doubtful for tomorrow’s game against the Thunder. Anthony, battling multiple injuries, hurt his wrist coming off a pick in the first quarter and came back into the game with it taped.
But early in the third quarter, he was done for the night after grabbing a loose ball, and being tripped up by a prone Memphis center Marc Gasol, who lunged at his ankle.
“We will see [today],’’ Anthony said. “Right now I’m real sore. I’m more concerned with getting my ankle right. I can deal with my wrist. I can wrap the wrist and play through that. A sore ankle is a bit more deal with.’’
Tomorrow, they will need Stoudemire to step up after his awful night in Memphis during which his string of 137 games in double figures was broken. It was the third-longest streak in the league.
“I got in foul trouble, Melo got hurt; it just wasn’t one of those nights for us,’’ Stoudemire said.
The foul-plagued Stoudemire finished with six points on 1-of-7 shooting and didn’t play in the fourth quarter after picking up his fourth foul. His lack of touches will not be an issue if Anthony doesn’t play.
“He needs to get more involved and we need to do a better job of getting him involved, especially if Melo’s out,’’ Mike D’Antoni said. “We need him scoring.’’
It hasn’t been an easy week for Anthony, starting last Friday in Washington, where he injured his lower back, which he said caused pain in his groin, hip and knee. Last night was the Knicks’ fifth game in seven nights.
It’s clear Anthony needs a game off to recover. A tough game — a long shot to win — against Kevin Durant’s Thunder is probably time to do it.
Anthony said he “didn’t have any feel in my wrist’’ in the first half.
“I’m not going to force it,’’ Anthony said. “If my ankle is not right by Saturday, I will be looking at Monday. I’m working around the clock, trying to get back. But I want to be healthy.’’
Anthony’s X-rays were negative, but D’Antoni said he fears the ankle will swell up today.
With Anthony healthy on the court in the first quarter, he couldn’t stop Memphis’ Rudy Gay, who erupted for 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting. Anthony, who left with 10:05 left in the third quarter, finished with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting
When Anthony left the game, the Knicks were still within 13 but collapsed. They had just 54 points with 8:54 left in the game.
“Tonight we saw how much we’ve been relying on him to shoot us out of stuff,’’ Shumpert said. “We got to be crisp and not need him to bail us out every time.’’
Shumpert had his worst game as a Knick, shooting a miserable 3 of 15 in the first half with two turnovers, trying to force things with Stoudemire in foul trouble. Shumpert finished with 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting and six turnovers.
“For whatever reason, I wasn’t ready to play today,’’ he said. “They need me to have more energy.’’
TNT’s Charles Barkley took the chance to poke D’Antoni, his favorite target, for letting Shumpert shoot them out of the game early.
“I’m blaming the coaching staff,’’ Barkley said. “A rookie should never feel that comfortable to take 15 shots in a half, unless they’re hitting them.”