Carmelo Anthony's Best Bernard King Impression Not Enough For Knicks

Yesterday Knicks Journal highlighted Bernard King's 46 point performance against the Pistons in the 1984 playoffs as one of the best in Knicks history.

It's noteworthy that King just happens to be Carmelo Anthony's hardwood idol, so it's only sensible that Anthony takes after King and his big game heroics.

Though Anthony having a big game is crucial to the Knicks' success, the team needs all the help it can get when taking on a team like the Celtics in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, all the necessary help was not readily available, as starting point guard and former NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups was unable to play due to a leg injury, and Amar'e Stoudemire was forced to miss the entire second half with back spasms.

Anthony came to play, scoring 42 points and 17 rebounds, a performance that will surely go down as one of the best individual performances by a Knick in the playoffs, but it just wasn't enough, as Anthony saw his team lose 96-93.

Though the Knicks only had three of its players score in double-figures, they managed to stay in the game all the way until the final seconds. Jared Jeffries, who scored a total of 47 points in all of limited time with the Knicks this season, managed to score a remarkable 10 points off the bench, and even had a key basket in the closing minutes to keep the Knicks in the game, but instantly went from hero to zero on a crucial turnover that sealed the game for the Celtics. Toney Douglas also scored 14 points starting in place of Billups.

The Celtics were led by 30 points from Rajon Rondo, who was almost as hot as Anthony, and 12 points from Kevin Garnett, who sank the shot that ultimately put the Knicks away.

The series will come home to New York City for game three on Friday night. Billups and Stoudemire are both still questionable for then.