Carmelo Anthony Not Sure Why He Was Benched in the 4th Quarter

Head coach Mike D’Antoni sat both Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ loss to the visiting Sixers yesterday in New York, and ‘Melo didn’t quite understand why that was. From Newsday: “Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire walked off the court at the end of the third quarter Sunday with the Knicks trailing by 16 points. They never got back in the game as the Knicks lost to the 76ers, 106-94. Mike D’Antoni said he wasn’t trying to make a statement by sitting his two stars. The Knicks, who face the Bulls in Chicago tonight, trailed by double digits for the entire fourth quarter. The closest they got was 10 points with 1:20 left. ‘In the sense that these guys [on the floor] were fighting, they had us back, I just didn’t feel like it was fair to them to take them out and try something else,’ D’Antoni said. Neither player said he was upset with the decision, but Anthony sounded confused. ‘I really don’t know what was Coach’s mind-set,’ said Anthony, who finished with 22 points in 29:07. ‘Maybe he was trying to save us for tomorrow. I’m not sure. That’s something you have to ask him.’ Asked if he was miffed, Anthony said: ‘I was fine. I guess he was saving me for tomorrow’s game. That was the mindset out there.'”