Hope is about all that remains for the Toronto Raptors when they play Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday (AEDT) at the Air Canada Centre. More
PHILADELPHIA — As a wild celebration exploded around him at a jubilant Wells Fargo Center, Carmelo Anthony stood on the floor stunned, trying to process the New York Knicks‘ latest debacle.
After starting Wednesday off by sounding the alarm on the Knicks’ teetering season, Anthony went scoreless in the fourth quarter and ended his day in pure frustration after the Sixers shocked the Knicks 98-97 at the buzzer.
Anthony scored a game-high 28 points but watched T.J. McConnell drill the latest game-winner against the Knicks over him to set off a delirious Sixers celebration. For the Knicks, it was the most demoralizing loss of the season.
A deflated and exasperated Anthony could only watch as the Knicks lost for the ninth time in 10 games after blowing a 10-point lead in the final 2:29.
It was also the second time an opponent had hit a buzzer-beater to beat the Knicks in five games as McConnell joined Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who drilled a game-winner at the Garden last week.
“Very, very disappointing,” said a dejected Anthony after the latest loss. “… I don’t even know what to say about this one.”
“We should tell ourselves that it’s unacceptable,” Anthony added later when asked if this was an unacceptable loss. “We were winning this game coming down the stretch. We were winning with 20-something seconds left. We came up short. So it should be unacceptable to all of us.”
Anthony, who was trying to get the Knicks back on track after he was ejected for the third time this season during the second half of a 110-96 loss at home to New Orleans on Monday, scored all 28 of his points in the first three quarters and capped the third with a 3-pointer.
But Derrick Rose — who returned to the team after missing Monday’s loss without giving the team any…