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Carmelo Anthony's game-winning attempt at the buzzer spins in, and out

Kelly Dwyer
Carmelo Anthony, and the anguish. (Getty Images)
Carmelo Anthony, and the anguish. (Getty Images)

Our intentions aren’t to pile on every single tale of Knick woe in what has been an unendingly rough few decades 2016-17 season, but though Saturday night’s New York loss to Phoenix didn’t feature a series of body blows to the bow of this struggling franchise, the team’s last second, 107-105 defeat to the Suns feels like the dirtiest of shots.

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Have you ever seen a potential game-winning shot go in and out like this?


It seems cruel. Carmelo Anthony missed at the buzzer after a 31-point, six-assist, seven-rebound night, one of his better performances of the year, falling in the face of former teammate Tyson Chandler and a traveling Phoenix team that was designed to lose and working many miles away from home.


The Knicks actually enjoyed a three-point lead with just other two minutes to go in the contest, prior to five quick Devin Booker points on what turned out to be a 12-point fourth quarter and 26-point night overall for the second-year guard.

Clyde Frazier knew. He’s seen a lot this season:

Anthony was frozen from the ball on the Knicks’ offensive end of the court as guards Derrick Rose and Ron Baker (removed from the starting lineup after four starts in favor of Courtney Lee) missed three shots.

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A Booker miss allowed for the Knicks to have either a chance to tie or win with those 6.3 seconds left in the contest, but Carmelo’s open look over Booker just didn’t have the spin.

This comes on the heels of a typically-tumultuous week for the Knicks, who now stand at 19-26, losers of 13 of 16 and three games behind the eighth-seeded Bulls for the final playoff spot in the East.

The week began with the expectation that Anthony and team president Phil Jackson would finally break bread over the subject of Anthony’s no-trade clause, and the ubiquity of either Jackson or Jackson’s pal’s comments about Carmelo’s play.

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Carmelo Anthony wants to outlast Jackson in New York, so that meeting went about as well as expected. Soon after falling to the Wizards in heartbreaking (and rule-breaking) fashion, Anthony discussed the possibility of waiving that no-trade clause should the Knicks decide to fully rebuild, as they’ve yet to do in nearly three full years under Jackson.

Also, Derrick Rose? He still talks. He had 26 points in the loss on Saturday, but missed twice in the final two minutes while needing 26 shots to get those 26 points.

Kristaps Porzingis, playing in his second game back since sitting with a batch of Achilles tendinitis, offered 14 points and two rebounds in 33 minutes. Courtney Lee hit for 13 points on just nine shots in his return to the starting lineup. Joakim Noah missed all four of his shot attempts, but pulled in 15 rebounds in just 20 minutes of play.

And yet, despite the most obvious of scouting reports for Carmelo Anthony being in the pocket of Suns coach and former Nuggets teammate Earl Watson before the game …

“Melo was my teammate in Denver, so I know Melo pretty well,” Watson said. “Big time player, quick first step, might be one of the best one-on-one players in our league. He can play without the dribble, off the dribble, great second jump, crashing the boards.”

… Anthony still had a perfect line to toss in the game-winner from 25-feet away, over the would-be usurper in Devin Booker.

In and out.

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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!