Knicks Coach Mike Woodson Says Carmelo Anthony Felt Discomfort in Knee Before Tumble

by NESN Staff on Tue, Mar 5, 2013 at 5:17PM

Carmelo Anthony‘s knee injury is being treated carefully but optimistically ever since the Knicks forward left Monday’s game after stumbling to the floor in the second quarter. For now, the team is holding out hope that Anthony simply tweaked his right knee during the win over the Cavaliers. Their best-case scenario is that he will be back on the court soon.

If he is not, the second-guessers will have a field day with Knicks coach Mike Woodson.

In a radio interview on Tuesday, Woodson disclosed that Anthony had asked out of the game because “something wasn’t right.” Woodson left in Anthony, who the coach said has never asked to come out of a game, because “[Anthony's] a warrior. He’s a tough kid.”

Woodson admitted that leaving the league’s leading scorer in the game was “stubborn.”

If Anthony’s injury is more severe than it looks — remember that Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo‘s strained hamstring turned out to be a torn ACL — Woodson’s honeymoon with Knicks fans could be over.