Knicks In Wait-And-See Mode After Carmelo Anthony Hurts Back
HOUSTON (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Just when you think things can't get any worse.
New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony left Monday night's game against the Houston Rockets in the second quarter with back spasms, walking gingerly to the locker room with less than two minutes remaining in the first half.
Houston (11-3) played without center Dwight Howard (knee) and point guard Patrick Beverley (hamstring), but James Harden had half of the Rockets' 14 3-pointers to overwhelm the Knicks, who played the second half without Melo.
"Back spasms are really tough to deal with," Knicks coach Derek Fisher said after the 91-86 loss. "He felt very uncomfortable, and we have to see tomorrow."
Anthony, who was unavailable to the media following the game, was taken to a local doctor for pain medication before a flight to Dallas, where the Knicks take on the Mavericks on Wednesday, a team representative said.
Carmelo Anthony will not address the media tonight, another bad sign.
— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) November 25, 2014
Anthony has also been dealing with a sore left knee.
"I'm sure we'll find out more over these next 24 to 48 hours," Fisher said. "It just kind of happened. This is the first I've seen him with back issues."
Knicks say Carmelo won't speak to the media tonight. In a lot of pain.
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) November 25, 2014
Jose Calderon and Travis Wear both had 9 points for the Knicks (4-11), who fell to 1-6 on the road and suffered their 10th loss in the last 12 games. Despite leaving so early in the game, Anthony led Knicks scorers with 14, and none of his teammates scored in double figures.
"It's always something going on," said Jose Calderon, whose calf injury forced him to miss the first 13 games of the season. "We cannot be full with everybody at the same time."
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