"?We got to want to do it. We got to want to be out there, we got to want to play, we got to want to compete,? he said. ?I don?t think it has anything to do with X?s and O?s. We got to take it upon ourselves individually to take a challenge. We can?t beat nobody allowing (58) points in the paint. Impossible.?
?I need to go home and just relax,? he said. ?Decompress a little bit.
?Regardless of the record. It?s the losing. It?s hard to accept that.?
In the final ticks of the third quarter, Anthony threw a pass picked off by DeMar DeRozan, who flew in for a fast-break dunk with 0.5 seconds left. Anthony didn?t look up and just started trudging dejectedly off the court, even with time left on the clock.
That summed it up: a Knicks team that looks ready to quit at 24-34, losers of 12 of its past 14.
?Regardless of the record, just losing, accepting that,?? Anthony said. ?It?s hard to accept that. You can?t be accepting that. I hope that?s not the case with the guys. You don?t want to get used to losing.??
Anthony was reminded Sunday was the five-year anniversary of his trade to New York, and he?s played for four coaches and with 70-plus teammates.
?It?s a lot ? a lot to go through,?? Anthony said. ?It?s been tough. It?s challenging, but you got to stay strong and positive.??
Toronto?s All-Star backcourt lived up to its status as DeRozan scored 22 points and Kyle Lowry, in destroying overmatched Jose Calderon, notched a triple-double ? 22 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Calderon went scoreless ? 0-for-2 with two turnovers.
?We couldn?t find a way to stop them in a half-court defense,?? said Rambis, who fell to 1-3 since taking over. ?We can?t stop the ball. A big part of our communication and second efforts disappeared in this ballgame.??
Anthony finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists but had three turnovers and missed four free throws. In another momentum-killer, Anthony bounced the ball off his foot on a drive, leading to a Cory Joseph fast-break layup and 84-64 Toronto lead.
The boos were loud in the final minutes of the first half as the Knicks started to embarrass themselves. Anthony bricked two straight free throws. Kyle O?Quinn did the same. Calderon threw away a backcourt pass to free-agent-to-be DeRozan for a fast-break dunk ? drawing the largest jeers of the night.
It was so bad the mild-mannered Porzingis picked up a technical foul with 4:24 left. Porzingis had an invisible night until the fourth quarter, when he came alive too late. He finished with 17 points but just two rebounds ? his interior defense getting worse, his activity level declining in February.
?Not a positive moment in the season,?? Porzingis said.
So you get an idea how rookie Jerian Grant feels as a reserve Knicks point guard. The Knicks need him to know and master the position but have him learning on the bench, even if the best way to do it is by, well, doing it.
?It?s definitely tough,? Grant said before the Knicks were trounced 122-95 by Toronto at the Garden on Monday. ?I feel the best way to learn is to be out there playing, playing through mistakes, learning, getting a feel for it. But they are doing a better job with me of showing me film, doing a lot of talking to me, explaining things. That helps, but the best way is definitely to be on the court.?
After sitting two of the first three games under interim coach Kurt Rambis, Grant was summoned for a garbage-time fourth quarter with the Knicks down 18. Grant, the 19th pick in last June?s draft, quickly made a few good things happen. He hit a 3-pointer, assisted on three of the Knicks? next five baskets and got to the line once. He played the fourth quarter and finished with nine points and four assists.
?All players are going to learn from being out there ? but it?s my balance as a coach to try and put players out there who I feel have the experience and knowledge to help us win,? Rambis said. ?But also to try and get him as much time as possible to allow that growth process to happen. I have him sitting next to [assistant] Jim Cleamons on the bench who played in this league and understands this system well and he communicates with him.
?We?re going to watch video tape with him more ? so he can get a visual of what?s happening out there so he can make better decisions.?
Grant understands and accepts all that. But being a pro player, especially a 23-year-old pro player, doesn?t make the process easier. Hey, he got an entire quarter Monday. So what if it came in garbage time?
All part of the growth process. It will come. And one guy who wants to remind Grant of that is Toronto All-Star starter Kyle Lowry, who while stressing he has not seen a lot of Grant so far, likes what he has seen.
?You tell him be patient,? Lowry said. ?Understand there will be trials and tribulations. But one thing you can do is find your niche, and his niche is playing hard, driving the basketball, creating contact, getting to the free-throw line from what I?ve seen. Now, I haven?t seen too many games, but I?ve played against him. So find a niche, get comfortable, but never settle. ? Always continue to grow.?
Rambis admitted speed tops the strengths in Grant?s game. But so far, Grant?s speed has been both a blessing and a curse.
?I like it when he uses his jets, and he doesn?t use them all the time,? Rambis said. ?He?s got terrific speed, and we?re encouraging him to use that speed. But with that speed, you?ve got to be under control so you can make quality decisions.?
And earn playing time.
----//
After the game...DeRozan credited Calderon for teaching him how to be a NBA player and all that.
