New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony is honest about his feelings on losing to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, saying the loss still lingers in his head and admitting he will use it as a motivation for the upcoming season.
"I'm not over it. I'm not over it," Anthony told ESPN New York. "I might act like it's over but I'm not over it, not at all."
He admitted that he will use the loss as a motivation for the upcoming season although he was quick to add that he is always motivated to chase that elusive championship ring.
"For me it's definitely motivation," Anthony said. "But I don't need that to motivate me. I get up and I get going myself. I motivate myself. I know what happened last year and I won't forget that."
The Knicks were upset by the Pacers in the second round after beating archrivals Boston Celtics in the first round. New York had homecourt advantage in the playoff pairing. It also had a more veteran-laden line-up consisting of Anthony, the recently-retired Jason Kidd who's now the Brooklyn Nets head coach, and Amare Stoudemire. On the other hand, the Pacers were a young team headlined by All-Star Paul George and center Roy Hibbert. The Pacers were also missing All-Star swingman Danny Granger during the playoffs.
But the Pacers pulled off the upset, 4-2. In game 6, Hibbert had a memorable block against Anthony that swung the momentum to the Pacers' favor and enabling Indiana to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
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