It has been a frustrating start for the New York Knicks, and their star player only got more upset over the foul calling, or lack thereof, by the referees during Thursday night's 109-106 loss at the hands of the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden.
Carmelo Anthony was vocally upset following a game where he had only 11 free throw attempts while Rockets' guard James Harden received 18, which had Anthony crying foul following the game.
"You look at that and you see the way that some guys get their calls," Anthony said after the game, according to ESPN. "Me? I got to get cut, you've got to see blood for me to get a call down there. That's where the frustration comes from."
According to ESPN, Anthony was asked after the game if he felt that Harden had forced himself to the free throw line so frequently because he was so aggressive when driving to the paint, but Anthony downplayed it and took it out on the officials rather than Harden, calling them out during his postgame interview.
"We didn't put him on the line. They put him on the line," Anthony said per ESPN. "Harden is a tough guy to guard, especially when they're calling the game the way that they called it tonight. Tough thing to guard out there."
The Rockets were 38-for-44 from the free throw line during the game while the Knicks only had 27 attempts from the line and converted on 22 of them. Anthony went 9-for-11 Thursday night from the line while Harden, who led the NBA in free throw attempts last year and ranks third so far this season, went 16-for-18.
The Knicks fell to 3-5 in the loss Thursday night and look ahead to a matchup with the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden Saturday.
Hopefully, at least in Anthony's mind, the referees call things a little more down the middle on Saturday.
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