Carmelo Anthony to speak with Tyson Chandler about center's critical comments

Carmelo Anthony wants to have a couple of words with Tyson Chandler before the Knicks try to even their series against the Pacers Tuesday night.

Anthony didn't sound too happy about Chandler saying the Knicks are playing selfishly and guys are trying to win games on their own. Chandler never mentioned anyone by name, but it's widely believed he was referring to Anthony, who seemed eager to get his teammates' point of view.

"I really don't want to go back and forth about that, because I really don't know exactly what he was talking about," he said after practice Monday. "But if he feels that way, we're about to get together . . . We'll discuss that among ourselves and figure that out, just get his take, his perspective on that comment.

"We'll handle that internally and figure it out amongst ourselves."

Anthony probably should have shot more in the Game 3 loss that gave Indiana a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He was 6-for-16, scored 21 points and took only three shots in the fourth quarter.

With the Knicks facing a must-win Game 4 Tuesday night, he promises to look to shoot more.

"I'll come out a little bit more aggressive because we don't want to go home and I don't want to go back to New York down 3-1," Anthony said. "I just want to be a little bit more assertive in that game, be a lot more aggressive than I was in Game 3. And as a team, I think we need to come out with a little more aggression and take care of the things we need to take care of and see what happens."

The Knicks don't seem to be at their best physically or mentally heading into their biggest game of the season.

J.R. Smith is a game-time decision with a virus. Iman Shumpert didn't practice with soreness and bruising in his surgically repaired left knee, and Kenyon Martin also is ill.

Now the Knicks' two All-Stars don't seem to be on the same page after Chandler's remarks following Sunday's practice.

"I think we need to do a better job of allowing the game to dictate who takes the shots and not the individuals," Chandler said Sunday. "Good teams win basketball games. Unless you're a great, great, great, great individual, and we've only had a few of those come through."

Mike Woodson said he didn't have a problem with Chandler's comments.

"I don't get mad at things like that," the coach said. "Sometimes bickering amongst each other is pretty healthy. I don't call it bickering, maybe that's not the word to use. I just think he's being a good teammate. I say it. Sometimes it's good that it comes from within the guys that are on the floor working. I don't see nothing wrong with it."

Chandler was critical of teammates, but he's been badly outplayed by Indiana's Roy Hibbert, who is averaging 14.7 points and 10.7 rebounds to Chandler's 7.0 points and 4.0 boards.

The Knicks need to play better defensively and attack the glass against Indiana if they're going to bring the series back to New York tied. They'll also need to be on the same page.

"Oh, we're good," Anthony said. "As far as mentally and everybody being on the same page, everybody is staying confident. Everybody is where we should be now.

"This is a gut-check game for us. We're on the road. We're down 2-1. We still believe that we can go in here and win the game. We've proven that we can win on the road. This is a big game for us. [Tuesday night] will tell us a lot about our team. We're ready for that challenge."