NBA Capsules: No Parker & Duncan, Spurs fall to Blazers by 40 - Brownsville Herald

Madison Square Garden shook when he was announced. Fans lined up to buy his jerseys, chanted his name, delighted in having the New York native back in the city.

The happy homecoming hasn't lasted. The Knicks are a sub.-500 team in the year since Anthony's celebrated trade from Denver, and the New York Post even wrote Tuesday that the Knicks should try to deal him to the Lakers for Pau Gasol.

Still popular, Anthony is no longer beloved. Fans appreciate his talents but question whether they translate to victories, writing on Twitter they feared he'd mess things up once he returned from injury to play with Lin.

Anthony tried to laugh that off, but the truth is he craves the popularity of Lin, an underdog success story whom Anthony compared to Rudy.

"I don't see why fans (would) not like me. I don't say I wouldn't care, I don't care, because I do care if fans like me or not. But at the end of the day I'm here to do one thing and that's to win basketball games," he said last week. "If people don't like it, then they don't like it. I move on, I go on."

The problem for Anthony is he isn't winning enough games. The Knicks were 14-14 after acquiring him on Feb. 22, 2011, after going 28-26 before his arrival. They are 16-17 this season, but 6-4 without Anthony.

Meanwhile, Lin is the winner, leading the Knicks to an 8-2 record since earning his first meaningful minutes in a victory over the Nets on Feb. 4. Anthony strained his right groin two nights later and missed the next seven games while the offense emerged from what had been a season-long funk.

The better they looked without Anthony, the more people speculated that Anthony, despite being the Knicks' leading scorer, had been the problem all along.

One person tweeted on Feb. 12 that he wondered if Anthony "knows or cares how terrified Knicks fans are about his return."

Yes, Anthony was aware. And yes, turns out they had reason to worry.

The Knicks lost 100-92 to New Jersey on Monday, as a rusty Anthony shot only 4 for 11 from the field for 11 points. He said afterward he was trying to play as the Knicks did during the previous two weeks and reiterated his belief in Lin's ability to run the team.

"I want Jeremy to have the ball. Hands down. I want him to create for me. I want him to create for Amare (Stoudemire). I want him to create for everybody and still be as aggressive as he's been over the past two weeks. I want that," Anthony said.

"There's going to be times I have the ball during the pick-and-roll situations, being a distributor, trying to be aggressive. But for the most part, I want Jeremy having the ball in his hands."

Anthony was greeted with a loud cheer Monday, maybe even louder than Lin's. He was voted by fans to start the All-Star game — though the TNT analysts announcing the picks unanimously said he was undeserving — so he's still got a huge following. He thanked his fans Tuesday with a message on Twitter.

"Big shout to all my fans and the (Knicks) fans as well," he wrote. "It's been 1yr. Wow!!!!!!"

Still, it's fallen short of hopes.

He wore a huge grin throughout his Feb. 23 debut Milwaukee, when the words "I was born in Brooklyn, New York" played across the overhead video board to a raucous ovation before he scored 27 points in a victory. He doesn't flash it nearly as often now in a frustrating season in which he's battled an assortment of injuries.

The Knicks paid an enormous price to get Anthony, surrendering starters Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov and top reserve Wilson Chandler, and that's created expectations that are nearly impossible to meet. He could have waited and joined the Knicks as a free agent with their core intact, and those holding that against him are likely the ones behind the occasional groaning at the Garden when Anthony launches an ill-advised shot.

Lin, on the other hand, was a simple waiver pickup who had already been cut twice this season, the type of guy that's easy to love.

The undrafted Harvard guard has downplayed concerns of his ability to play with Anthony, noting Monday was also the debut of Baron Davis and the second game with J.R. Smith.

"We're not in panic mode, because it doesn't just work where all of sudden people show up and you have great chemistry," Lin said. "So we're going to have to work through some struggles, so as long as we're all committed and buying in, we'll be fine."

D'Antoni and Stoudemire have also used the "buying in" term, and though nobody has ever said so, the hunch is always that they're talking specifically about Anthony. D'Antoni's offense flows best with quick ball movement and unselfish play, and Anthony's preference has also been to isolate and hold the ball before trying to take his man 1-on-1.

Anthony has had moments of brilliance with the Knicks, such as his 42-point, 17-rebound Game 2 performance against Boston in the playoffs. His 20 game-winning or tying baskets with under 10 seconds left are second among active players to Kobe Bryant's 22, so the Knicks need him on the floor no matter what this season's results have been.

Extra practice time around the All-Star break should allow Lin and Anthony to develop cohesion, and eventually New York's two most popular players might be just as productive.

Maybe Melo can turn Linsanity into LinsAnthony.

-- Brian Mahoney

In Miami, the Heat await a look at Linsanity

It may be the NBA's marquee matchup so far this season, the phenomenon that is New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin taking center stage in Miami on Thursday against the NBA-leading Heat in both sides' finale before the All-Star break. Online ticket brokers reported early Wednesday that the average price of a seat on the resale markets is about $600. Unless you want courtside seats, that is. They run about $8,000 — each.

"It's not about Jeremy Lin versus LeBron James," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "It's the Miami Heat versus the New York Knicks."

And, sure, Heat-Knicks is a big deal. Always is, probably always will be, even though the teams' run of four straight years of playoff knockdown-drag outs ended nearly 12 years ago. But the Lin story has already seemed to crank the intensity of the rivalry up several more notches, to the point where some Heat players and coaches have been getting asked about this particular matchup for more than a week already.

Most had been hesitant to talk about the Lin story line, usually declining because there were other games on the schedule beforehand.

No more. When Miami finished off Sacramento on Tuesday night and the Knicks were officially the next order of Heat business, the questions — hardly any having to do with Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire or any other New York player — started coming in bunches.

"Who do we play?" Heat coach Erik Spoelstra asked with a sly grin.

Mm-hmm. Right. He knows. Everyone knows.

"It's the game right before All-Star," James said. "But it won't be like 'that' game before All-Star, like people are accustomed to. Everybody always says, you know, the game before All-Star, people are ready to get to All-Star weekend. I don't think so. Just knowing the rivalry, knowing the history between the Heat and Knicks. It could be one of the most watched games we've had in a long time, especially with what Jeremy Lin is doing."

A couple weeks ago, there was probably no one who thought James would be touting Lin as a reason to watch this game.

Lin has played against the Heat before, a short stint best described as unremarkable.

A missed shot, an offensive rebound, two assists and a steal. That's what Lin managed against the Heat on Dec. 10, 2010, when he checked in for the final 3:20 of a blowout Miami victory against Golden State. He was inactive when the Warriors came to Miami three weeks later, and didn't play on Jan. 27 when the Knicks visited the Heat and lost 99-89.

Linsanity started about a week later, when the point guard who was a career 12.9-point-per-game scorer at Harvard came off the bench and scored 25 points in a 99-92 Knicks victory over New Jersey. Entering Wednesday's game against Atlanta at Madison Square Garden, New York — suddenly a strong playoff hopeful after a dreadful start — is 8-2 with Lin in the rotation, and he's averaging 24.6 points and 9.2 assists in that stretch.

"The kid deserves it, he's worked hard, he's a great story," Wade said. "But for us, it's another game — a big game — and a chance to get a win."

Celebrities are expected in droves. Floyd Mayweather Jr., who's been to many Heat games since James, Wade and Chris Bosh decided in 2010 to play together in Miami, has tickets. Knicks superfan Spike Lee is almost certain to be courtside.

Rest assured, Lin won't be the only star visiting Miami on Thursday night.

Oh, there's even rumors that former President Bill Clinton — who watched the Heat beat Orlando on Sunday from a courtside seat — may be back Thursday. And President Barack Obama — a noted basketball fan — has some speaking engagements in nearby Coral Gables, Fla., on Thursday afternoon, wrapping up just a little while before Heat-Knicks will tip off.

"This will be a game that won't require a lot of motivation, by either team," Spoelstra said. "It'll be good for the fans."

Spoelstra and Lin are both Asian-American. Spoelstra is of Filipino descent, while Lin's parents were born in Taiwan.

Miami will bring a seven-game winning streak and a 26-7 record into the game, both of those marks the best in the league. Each of Miami's wins during that streak have come by at least 12 points, and the Heat have won 17 of their last 20 games overall. The Knicks are 16-17 entering Wednesday. Records rarely mean much in Knicks-Heat games, though.

"We love playing against them and they love playing against us," Wade said. "I don't have to pump it up. It's going to be pumped up enough."

Maybe that's why the two Heat players who will spend much of their time guarding Lin on Thursday added little fuel to the fire when asked about the matchup.

"It's a showdown. Everybody's been hyping this game up," Heat starting point guard Mario Chalmers said. "So it's going to be a lot of fun. Crazy atmosphere. It's not really personal. It's team. Team on team. Heat versus Knicks."

Added Heat backup point guard Norris Cole: "Definitely looking forward to it. I've heard about what he's done. I've watched the highlights. I've seen some of the games. He's produced. You've got to give the guy credit. He's been playing very well."

So have the Heat, of course. Which means this one could be worthy of the hype.

"It's going to be a high-energy game," Wade said. "The crowd is going to be into it. Fans around the world are going to watch the game, obviously, for many different reasons, so it'll be great."

-- Tim Reynolds

Ties to Knicks' Lin peck at Taiwan bookishness

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — In achievement-oriented Taiwan, where studying seems to be the preferred pastime activity among young people, the outdoor complex of basketball courts near National Taiwan University is normally a pretty lonely place, more used to hosting raindrops and discarded food wrappers than pivoting feet and jump shots.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson will be back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a sprained left ankle. Cleveland hosts Detroit on Tuesday night.

Gibson is averaging eight points in 21 games. He was injured when he landed on the foot of Indiana's Paul George while attempting a jump shot on Feb. 15. Gibson, who is shooting 42.9 percent on 3-pointers, missed games against Miami and Sacramento.

Guard Anthony Parker missed his 11th straight game because of back spasms. He hasn't played since Jan. 29. Guard Manny Harris, who was signed to a 10-day contract Tuesday, was active for the game.

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