Jackson’s words puzzle Anthony
Triple-double run at 7 for Westbrook
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Carmelo Anthony said he was “caught off guard” by Phil Jackson’s critical comments about him and that the Knicks don’t need the “negativity” right now.
Anthony said he hasn’t spoken to the Knicks president since he said that Anthony holds the ball too long on offense. Anthony said he doesn’t understand why Jackson made those remarks.
“At the end of the day, we’re playing good basketball,” Anthony said before the Knicks’ shootaround Friday. “That’s the only thing that really matters at this point. Any negativity that’s coming toward me or towards the team I don’t think we need it at this point, especially when we’re trying to make a run. We’re on a five-game road trip, but we have an opportunity to do something special here.”
Jackson made the comments to CBS Sports Network in an interview that aired Tuesday after he was asked how Anthony was doing in the triangle offense. Later that night, Anthony scored 35 points to lead the Knicks over the Heat. He also hit two game-winning shots over a four-game span during a stretch when the Knicks went 9-3. Friday’s win over Sacramento made that mark 10-3.
Anthony didn’t want to speak about Jackson’s comments after the Knicks’ loss to Cleveland on Wednesday because he said he hadn’t seen the full quote.
“I was caught off guard, not really knowing what was going on,” Anthony said.
Then Anthony read it and posted items on Twitter and Instagram. One was a quote that ended with “let it GO.” The other was a picture of his idol Muhammad Ali with arrows in his body and holding one that was slung toward his face.
“I’m a big quote guy,” Anthony said. “I have a million quotes in my phone. Sometimes they just pop up at the right time.”
Asked if he feels someone hurled arrows at him, Anthony said it’s something he’s come to embrace from being in New York. But he didn’t expect it to come from someone within his team.
“It’s not something I expect,” Anthony said. “I didn’t talk to him so I don’t know where he was coming from with those comments. If he wants to talk about it, cool. If he don’t, cool. In my eyes, it’s over with.”
Anthony said he won’t seek out Jackson, who is expected to meet the Knicks in Los Angeles, where they are scheduled to practice Saturday and play the Lakers on Sunday.
“My conversations with management is limited at this point,” Anthony said. “I’ve decided to focus on what I can focus on and let them focus on what they can focus on.”
Jackson, who signed Anthony to a five-year, $124 million contract three years ago that included a no-trade clause, told CBS Sports Network that Anthony has “a little bit of a tendency to hold it for three, four, five seconds, and then everybody comes to a stop.”
In Oklahoma City, James Harden scored 21 points as Houston overcame Russell Westbrook’s seventh consecutive tripledouble to beat OKC.
Harden also had 12 assists and nine rebounds to help the Rockets win their fifth straight.
Westbrook finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He has the longest triple-double streak since Michael Jordan had seven straight in 1989. The most in a row is nine by Philadelphia’s Wilt Chamberlain in March 1968. SUNS 119, LAKERS 115: In Los Angeles, Eric Bledsoe had 30 points for Phoenix, including two free throws with 4 seconds left, to lead the Suns past LA.
Lou Williams came off the bench to score 35 points for the Lakers. CAVALIERS 114, HEAT 84: In Cleveland, LeBron James scored 27 points to move into ninth place on the NBA scoring list as Cleveland routed Miami.
James passed Elvin Hayes and has 27,315 career points. RAPTORS 101, CELTICS 94: In Boston, Kyle Lowry scored 21 of his seasonhigh 34 points in the second half for Toronto. Toronto erased an eightpoint halftime deficit and led by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter. PISTONS 117, TIMBERWOLVES 90: In Minneapolis, Andre Drummond had 22 points and 22 rebounds for his second straight 20-20 game as Detroit cruised past Minnesota. MAVERICKS 111, PACERS 103: In Dallas, Wesley Matthews matched a season high with 26 points and Harrison Barnes had 25 as Dallas beat Indiana for its third win in 15 games. HAWKS 114, BUCKS 110: In Milwaukee, Dennis Schroder scored 33 points and Atlanta rallied from 20 down in the second half to beat Milwaukee. HORNETS 109, MAGIC 88: In Charlotte, N.C., Nic Batum and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist each had 16 points as Charlotte routed Orlando for its third straight victory. KNICKS 103, KINGS 100: In Sacramento, Calif., Carmelo Anthony had 33 points to lead New York past Sacramento.