PORTLAND — To tank or not to tank is no longer a question.
Phil Jackson’s Knicks looked every bit like a lottery team during Thursday’s 110-95 loss to the Trail Blazers with Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose held out of the second game of a back-to-back due to injury.
Anthony was sidelined with a sore left knee while Rose, who suffered a right foot injury during Wednesday’s loss to Utah, was inactive for precautionary reasons. There is a chance both could be available for the final game of the trip on Saturday against the Spurs.
“I’ll try to give it a go next game,” Rose said before the Knicks fell to 27-45. “We talked about it with the training staff, playoff game, take some medicine (and) be all right. Tonight, I think it was smart. I didn’t want to re-aggravate it and actually give myself a good chance for Saturday’s game.”
Although X-rays of Rose’s foot were negative, the point guard reported that he was feeling sore. The training staff advised him not to test it during pre-game warmups.
“I have some pain and discomfort when putting on shoes, walking, having a lot of pressure on it,” Rose said. “The way that I walk makes me want to walk on the inside of my foot. Little things that hurt me yesterday in the game.”
Anthony was unavailable for comment before the game but he wasn’t expected to play on both nights of a back-to-back. Jeff Hornacek informed the All-Star on Monday that he would reduce Anthony’s workload with the playoffs no longer a realistic goal. But with Hornacek wanting to beat his former team, the Jazz, he played Anthony 35 minutes.
Anthony said on Tuesday that he’s come to grips with the fact that he will not appear in the playoffs for a fourth straight season. He also understands why Hornacek wants to reduce his minutes over the final 10 games, which include just one more back-to-back.
Portland, which scored 67 first half points, was led by Damian Lillard, who scored 19 of his 30 points before halftime. C.J. McCollum added 20.
Porzingis led the Knicks with 18 points on 8 for 21 shooting with nine rebounds. He was a minus-21 in the first half. Portland center Jusuf Nurkic made 6 of 9 shots and scored 16 points with 10 rebounds.
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Derrick Rose wasn’t aware that his former college coach, John Calipari and Kentucky, will play UCLA in Memphis. Rose played his one year of college basketball at Memphis, which was eventually placed on three years’ probation for NCAA rules violations. Since taking over Kentucky, Calipari had not coached a game in Memphis.
“Wow, they put him back in Memphis,” Rose said, laughing. “Wow. Wow. They know they’re dirty for that. Anything for ratings. I understand.”
