SOMETHING IS AMISS
Anthony off mark as Knick slide continues
INDIANAPOLIS – The Pacers wore their maroon Hickory High uniforms from “Hoosiers,” but the Knicks were the overmatched underdogs Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The visitors also couldn’t pull off the upset because of a dud from Carmelo Anthony, who missed 15 of his 20 shots, committed a costly flagrant foul and airballed a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer of Wednesday’s 108-105 loss to the Pacers.
At least the Knicks played hard two days after Anthony questioned his team’s desire following an embarrassing loss to the Raptors.
“It was a tough one. Guys really d id step up tonight and played well and they responded well. And in a night when everybody stepped up, I had one of my worst nights,” said Anthony, who had 14 points.
It didn’t take long – just about two weeks, in fact – but interim coach Kurt Rambis has gone from talking up the playoffs as “the only goal” to hoping for progress heading into next season. In other words, he has caught up with Derek Fisher and pushed aside the idea of the playoffs.
The Knicks (24-35) have lost 13 of their last 15 games and dropped to 13th in the Eastern Conference. In a larger and more depressing picture, the Knicks have now lost 100 games since the start of last season – or the real beginning of the Phil Jackson era.
“Obviously we want wins and we’re keeping hope alive that we have a shot at making the playoffs. But with each loss
that kind of diminishes and continues to diminish over time,” Rambis said. “But the guys have to have this winning spirit. They can’t develop a losing attitude. They have to feel like they’re winners and go out (and) believe they can win every ballgame.
“It’s not just for this season and the possibilities that are out there. But it’s for the following year. You’ve got to develop a mental toughness.”
Kristaps Porzingis paced the Knicks with 22 points i n 36 minutes, but he missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining. The rookie lined up from well beyond the arc, got an open look and clanged it off the rim.
“That was the play we wanted to do. I think I got a good look. It felt good when I released it. And now it feels terrible,” Porzingis said. “Just knowing how hard we worked to get to that spot, it feels bad that I missed it.”
After Myles Turner (24 points) made one of his two free throws on the other end with 1.9 seconds left to give the Pacers a three-point advantage, the Knicks fed Anthony in the corner for a rushed trey that didn’t stand a chance.
Earlier, with 1:29 remaining, a frustrated Anthony elbowed Turner during an inbounds play, resulting in a flagrant and costing New York a valuable point as Paul George sank the technical free throw.
Anthony was also outplayed by George, who scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half. It’s been a difficult time for Anthony since the All-Star break.
“It was just a rough night overall,” Anthony said. “It was just a tough night period.”
JIMMER IN JAM: Rambis left D-League call-up Jimmer Fredette on the bench for the entire game after hinting that the guard was outmatched in practice. In two games since signing a 10-day contract, Fredette has played less than two minutes and hit his lone shot attempt.
“We had a rough, aggressive defensive practice yesterday, looking at different guys and what they were doing defensively, so in some parts he got pushed around a little bit,” Rambis said. “And guys were active offensively as a result of the defense. Right now, it’s probably still going to stay with the same rotations that we’ve used before.
“It’s just being young or skinny or small, when you have a physical game or a physical practice, that’s something that happens. It’s not like it was so obvious or something, like he was just falling down all over the place. It was nothing like that. But you can just see when guys get more physical, then there’s going to be more issues with things.”