Carmelo Anthony Laments Knicks' Woes: 'It's A Messed-Up Feeling'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- What's going on with the New York Knicks?
Coming off a 54-win season, they're looking like anything but the reigning Atlantic Division champs. Carmelo Anthony struggled to put his finger on it after the Knicks' third straight loss.
"We're losing," he said after Tuesday's 92-86 defeat in Detroit. "It's a messed-up feeling, a hurt feeling. Got to figure it out. That's the only thing I can say about this. We've got to figure it out quick."
The Knicks led 71-63 after three quarters and scored the first seven points of the fourth. New York cut the lead to four in the final minute, but the Knicks couldn't reduce the deficit to one possession.
"I thought effort was there, at times," Anthony said. "It's hard to take anything positive out of the way we've been playing these games. It's not really making sense to me right now as far as what's really going on, why we're not in sync with one another, why we're just losing basketball games."
Anthony led the Knicks with 25 points. The loss dropped New York to 3-7 with the 9-1 Pacers looming Wednesday.
"There's some bitter feelings, knowing that they knocked us out of the playoffs last year," Anthony said. "Hopefully that gives us some momentum, some energy, some confidence and some anger to go out there and play with."
New York guard Raymond Felton missed Tuesday's game because of an injured lower back and left hip area. Beno Udrih started at guard, his first start of the season. Kenyon Martin also got his first start of 2013-14 for the Knicks, giving them some size against Detroit's big front line. New York is already without Tyson Chandler because of a broken leg.
"We're going to get this together," Martin said. "Teams go through slumps like that during a season, but we are doing it in November, so it gets magnified. We just have to figure out our problems on offense."
Neither team led by more than six in the first half. The Pistons (4-6) were ahead 55-54 before going on a 7-0 run in the third quarter. J.R. Smith made a 3-pointer, and Anthony was called for a technical foul moments later — after he apparently thought he was fouled on a missed shot.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson said the Knicks lost their composure in the third quarter.
"It's kind of hard when you're out there ... thinking something should be called and it's not," Anthony said.
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