Knicks Morning News (2017.02.05)

Melo: Knicks’ struggles, rumors ‘testing my will’

LeBron James considers Carmelo Anthony his “brother,” but King James made it clear on Saturday that he is not his brother’s keeper.

The Knicks’ players can’t help but hear the trade rumors, but they’re trying to block them out. They don’t want to consider life without Carmelo Anthony.

LeBron James is the main attraction whenever he visits the Garden, and he didn’t disappoint with another brilliant performance Saturday night. His buddy Carmelo Anthony had plenty of eyes on him too, but he disappointed the home crowd and maybe his bosses.

Did Phil Jackson really ask the Cavaliers for Kevin Love in a deal for Carmelo Anthony, as has been reported? Love’s performance at the Garden on Saturday night showed that this might have been a pretty good idea by the Knicks’ president.

Jeff Hornacek isn’t ready to remove Joakim Noah from the starting lineup and said he will stick with him for the time being.

Cleveland jumped out to a 27-point lead in the third quarter and held off a late Knicks’ rally for a 111-104 victory over the Knicks Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Knicks G Derrick Rose will sit out Saturday against the Cavaliers with an ankle injury, the team announced.

The Knicks host the Cavaliers on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m.

Carmelo Anthony was not mad about being benched during the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Nets, head coach Jeff Hornacek said Saturday.

Amid rumors that Carmelo Anthony could be traded away from the Knicks, guard Derrick Rose has wondered if he’ll be be gone before the trade deadline as well, according to ESPN New York’s Ian Begley.

Before Mike D’Antoni’s speedball gangs and Steve Kerr’s record-setting Warriors, the Knicks were 3-point shooting trendsetters in the late 1980s. The 1988-89 Knicks, under coach Rick Pitino, attempted 1,147 3-pointers, up by more than 400 from the previous league high, and made 386, to shatter the former 271 standard. Saturday, as part of the Knicks’…

Another Carmelo Anthony supporter voiced his opinion Saturday. Former Knick and TV color analyst Mark Jackson threw his support behind Anthony, saying the oft-maligned forward, who has been the subject of numerous trade rumor reports, has too long been on a talent island with the Knicks. “It’s not just him. You don’t win with just…

If there is a basketball purgatory, the Knicks are in it, caught between the illusion of chasing a playoff berth and the likelihood they are about to rebuild for the future. That was evident against the Cavaliers on Saturday night at the Garden, where LeBron James and the defending champions beat the overmatched home team…

When the season began, Kristaps Porzingis hoped to complete the All-Star weekend triple crown — the Rookie-Sophomore game, the Skills Challenge and the main event. He will have to settle for two of the three after being passed over for the All-Star Game. Nevertheless, Porzingis said he is “excited” about being one of the eight…

LeBron James did not want to engage in any talk about the stormy relationship between Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks management. His lips were sealed, other than to say he wants Anthony, his friend, to be happy. Instead, as he usually does, he made a whole lot of noise of the court and made the…

If the Cavaliers needed further confirmation why they don’t need to swap Kevin Love for Carmelo Anthony, they got it at the Garden on Saturday. With Anthony suffering through a second straight erratic game, LeBron James dominated and Love produced as the Cavaliers shook off the absence of injured Kyrie Irving to post a 111-104…

HOUSTON — As we speed inevitably and inexorably toward the exit ramp, perhaps it is not such a terrible idea to remember when things around the Knicks were perfectly juxtaposed, when they were the team seeking to make a blockbuster trade, when they were the ones hoping to import an All-Star. It is easy to…

Knowing his four-year, $72 million contract is untradable, Joakim Noah is viewed by management as the backup center for next season, according to a source. Whether that backup status is realized this season is a fluid situation. Despite rookie center Willy Hernangomez’s striking progress the past few weeks, Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek still is coming…

Down by 27 points in the third quarter, the Knicks fought their way back into the game thanks to Brandon Jennings, but they couldn’t complete the comeback.

The West is on its way to recording an aggregate edge over the East for a ninth straight season, just one reflection of its continued superiority.

The Cleveland Cavaliers should tell Phil Jackson to lose their number once and for all.

Anthony sounds like a man trying to work through an unhappy marriage.

Hornacek stuck with Joakim Noah despite statistical reasons to put the $72 million center on the bench.