Knicks' skid reaches six; 'Melo won't tip his hand

DENVER - Carmelo Anthony is making two franchises miserable right now. The Nuggets don't know whether their star will be back after this season and the Knicks are barely surviving without him.

And before a lifeless crowd here at Pepsi Center, Anthony and the Nuggets barely held off the Knicks, 120-118, Tuesday night. The defeat extended the Knicks' losing streak to six games. Shooting was once again a major issue, especially from three-point range, where the Knicks were 9-for-31. It certainly wasn't a performance that would motivate Anthony to think he could be the missing piece to a championship team.

"They got some things to do, they got some things to work on," Anthony said of the Knicks (3-7). "It looks like they're trying to figure out their team. They got some new players on the team and they're trying to figure it out."

Anthony, who had 26 points and nine rebounds, still has to figure out whether he wants to be part of it. But one thing he did know was that this won't be the last time he plays against the Knicks.

"We play them next month, right?" he said, regarding the Dec. 12 matinee in New York. "We play them next month, so I'll see them at the Garden again."

Amar'e Stoudemire led the Knicks with 24 points. Danilo Gallinari, who is most often mentioned in trade talk involving Anthony, had 21 points and 10 rebounds, but shot 6-for-19 from the field and 2-for-10 from three-point range. Gallinari took the blame for the loss.

"I have to be responsible for tonight because I should have hit more three-point shots," he said. "I had a lot of open looks and I didn't hit it."

The Nuggets (6-5) haven't been impressed enough with Gallinari to engage in trade talks with the Knicks, but rookie Landry Fields, who had a career-high 21 points and 17 rebounds, may have piqued their interest. Even Anthony seemed impressed.

"Landry found the ball, the ball found him," he said. "He played great."

Stoudemire, who is getting more desperate by the day with his new team, talked again about the prospect of joining forces with Anthony, whom he lobbied over the summer.

"I love Carmelo, man, he's a good friend of mine," Stoudemire said. "Obviously, any time you can team up with great friends, it would be a lot of fun."

Told of this, Anthony laughed, shook his head and said, "Amar'e's crazy."

Former Knick Al Harrington, however, thinks Anthony is crazy for passing on a three-year, $65-million contract extension offer from the Nuggets.

"I personally couldn't sleep with $65 million on the table," Harrington said.

Anthony grinned and ensured, "I sleep good at night."

But Harrington also pointed out that Anthony's situation with the Nuggets this season is mirroring what the Cavaliers went through with LeBron James last season. Even Anthony admitted he has some concerns about experiencing the same backlash LeBron has faced in bolting Cleveland.

But the Nuggets, led by the new front office of team executive Josh Kroenke and general manager Masai Ujiri, will have to face a difficult decision come Feb. 24, the NBA's trade deadline. Do they move Anthony to get as much value as they can or do they risk seeing him walk away for nothing, which is what the Cavs experienced with LeBron, the Raptors did with Chris Bosh and the Suns did with Stoudemire? Asked where he thinks he'll be after the trade deadline, Anthony replied, "I don't know, you guys got to ask Masai that question. Any questions regarding trades or anything, talk to the front office."

He did, however, say that he and Ujiri have "a great conversation going back and forth. He understands my options are open. But for the most part, I'm having great dialogue with him."

Anthony seemed to enjoy fielding questions from the New York media, though unlike LeBron, he didn't offer much to analyze. LeBron once said Knicks fans could "believe," but Carmelo wouldn't even go as far as addressing the fans.

"I can't really say nothing to them, I've got to focus on what's going on here in Denver right now," he said. "For me to send a message to the fans in New York, I can't do that."