The Knicks were blown out in Memphis on Thursday, but their biggest concern will be the health of their star player.
Carmelo Anthony, the league’s third leading scorer, left the Knicks’ 94-83 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in the third quarter with a sprained ankle. Anthony will have an MRI shortly to determine the severity of the injury, and the organization and its fans are surely waiting with bated breath and hoping it’s not too serious.
Anthony’s injury is not nearly the reason the Knicks lost, as they played poorly both before and after his departure. The Grizzlies led wire to wire and led by as much as 25 points in a dominant third quarter. Amar’e Stoudemire picked up two quick fouls and never found a rhythm, finishing with just 6 points on 1-of-7 shooting. Rookie Iman Shumpert, who has been impressive in his first NBA season, was woeful, shooting 5-of-20 from the field and turning the ball over six times. Overall, the Knicks looked very much like a tired team, having played Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers night and flown out to Memphis after the win.
For Memphis, Rudy Gay enjoyed his best game of the season, and the Knicks simply had no answer for the former UConn Husky. Gay scored a season-high 26 points, misfiring on just five of his 16 shot attempts. O.J. Mayo also shot very well, finishing with a season-high 18 points. The win snapped a three game losing streak for the Grizzlies and improved them to 4-6 on the season.
The Knicks fell to 6-5 and have a tall order ahead of them on Saturday night when they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder. It would be a tough task with a full squad, but if Anthony is unavailable, the Knicks will be very much in danger of falling to the .500 mark again.