Melo: Maybe I'm shooting too much - NBA

After the Knicks' 119-114 double-overtime loss to Denver on Saturday, Carmelo
Anthony sat in silence at his locker, in full uniform, for about 15 minutes,
thinking about the events of the past week.

The Knicks (6-9) had lost four home games in the past six days, two to teams
with 4-9 records at the time.

In those four games, Anthony shot a combined 35-of-105 (33 percent).

"Maybe I need to not take so many shots. I don't know," he said. "There's
just a bunch of stuff that goes through my mind. Just [trying to figure] out
ways to make other guys better. Should I pass it more?"

In the midst of questioning everything, Anthony accepted blame for the
Knicks' six-game losing streak.

"The coaches do run the offense through me, so I'll take it. I'll take that
blame," Anthony said.

He went 10-for-30 against Denver, missing 13 of his first 16 attempts.

But Anthony had his moments.

He hit his final four shots of regulation, including a 22-foot jumper with
1.7 seconds to play that sent the game to overtime.

But he couldn't muster enough in the two subsequent overtimes to get the
Knicks over the hump.

Mike D'Antoni said after the game that his struggling team has a gorilla on
its back right now.

It also has a star who isn't making shots.

"The shots that I've been taking, I'll take those shots every night," Anthony
said after going 3-for-9 in both overtimes. "Those are shots that I work on
in the gym. They're just not falling for me right now."

Anthony hasn't been the same since returning from right ankle and left wrist
injuries Monday against the Magic. The Knicks are off on Sunday. Anthony said
he will meet with the team's medical staff on Monday to determine whether he
should sit out Tuesday's game -- and possibly more -- to allow the injuries
to heal.

"I'm kind of hard-headed sometimes [when trainers tell] me to sit out games.
I don't really know how to take that. But maybe it's time to re-evaluate
that," he said.

Making matters worse for Anthony: With their win on Saturday, the Nuggets
improved to 31-16 since the trade that sent Anthony to the Knicks. New York
fell to 20-28 since the trade. Saturday's game was the teams' first since the
blockbuster deal last February.

And one of the key pieces in the trade, former Knick Danilo Gallinari,
torched his former club with a career-high 37 points.

Gallinari got to 37 by taking 11 fewer shots than Anthony, who right now is a
star who can't shoot straight.

"When you're missing shots and they're right there, you say, 'Maybe the next
one, maybe the next one.' That's kind of the mentality you have. Maybe I need
to stop shooting a lot. I don't know," Anthony said. "There's just a bunch of
stuff that goes through my mind. Obviously, that's the case when the shots
are not falling."


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