New York Knicks receive another blow; Carmelo Anthony injures groin again – NBA Update
New York Knicks are under a spell; shedding players like leaves in autumn as the playoffs draw closer. First it was Amar’e Stoudemire (bulging disk in back) , then Jeremy Lin (knee) and now forward Carmelo Anthony.
The forward played a cardinal role in the 89-80 victory against Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night. He tallied a game high 28 points and 12 boards and more than covered up for Lin and Stoudemire. He also lifted the injury prone team
to a 2 ½-game lead over Bucks for the final 8th playoffs spot in the Eastern Conference.
Perhaps he pushed himself too hard in the game as he injured his groin making a spin move late in the 3rd quarter. Melo fought the pain for the rest of game playing his role in the crucial victory. The situation can
get worst as he had missed 7 games earlier due to the injured groin and his status for Wednesday is surrounded by the clouds of doubt.
He will be having detailed medical examination but the forward was in high spirits grading the injury as a minor snag.
“I don’t think it’s too bad; I just want to take it day by day,” Anthony said. “Tomorrow, [I'll] get re-evaluated and see what happens from there… “It aches a little bit right now. If I had to play tomorrow, I probably would, but
we’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”
With Stoudemire out indefinitely due to back injury; Jared Jeffries off the court for 2 weeks due to complications with his surgically repaired knee and Lin also missing the game due to knee soreness, Carmelo was the last player
Knicks wanted to lose.
Anthony had been striving to prove himself since the new interim coach Mike Woodson came at the helm of affairs. He hasn’t scored more than 17points in any of the 1st 7 games since Mike D’Antoni’s resignation. But it
all changed on Monday night as he shot a 100% from charity stripe, hitting all of his 12 freebies and connected 8-for-20 from the field.
He was jubilant over his performance as he justified his role as a co-captain.
“It was a game we had to win. I wanted to do everything in my power to do it,” Anthony said. “I love moments like this.”
New York improved to 7-1 under the stewardship of Woodson after winning the match against Bucks despite being handicapped. They committed 23 turnovers and shot only 35 %
The coach praised the efforts especially the impervious defence instilled by his team.
“We just kept grinding and grinding and getting defensive stops,”
However a secure position for the playoffs is still a far cry as they are being closely followed by Milwaukee. Notably Knicks have to play 16 and Bucks are yet to compete in 17 more games in the regular season, enough to turn the
tables around.
They will require a 100% roster especially Carmelo, who is averaging 20.2 points and 6 rebounds per game in this shortened season.
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