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I asked Dr. Melo yesterday exactly what he has been telling Smith, and he said: “Just play ball, just relax and play ball. Don’t try to put so much pressure on yourself to go out there and try to make something in one play, it’s not gonna happen, it won’t work. “Just let it happen. Let the game come to you. Try to find other things, other ways to be effective in the game. Keep shooting the ball. We need him to shoot the ball, we need him to make shots. That’s the most important thing, try to just stay mentally strong. “He says he’s in a slump. I don’t really believe in a slump. If you tell yourself you’re in a slump then you will be in a slump. Always try to think positive. With him, just trying to keep him upbeat, keep him positive ... ’cause he’s a big part of our team’s success.” New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith 

I can't blame J.R. Smith if he's distracted by Rhianna, but Carmelo Anthony is convinced that when the Knicks take the floor Smith's mind will be right. "I don’t want to speak on that," Anthony said of the talk about Smith's nightlife. "To me, he’s focused now. He’s here with us, when he’s here he’s here. Whatever he’s been doing in his spare time he does in his spare time. "My thing to J.R., I want him to remain positive regardless of what’s going on off the court, what’s being said about him. If you don’t have a positive attitude throughout these situations it’s going to make everything tough." Sulia

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, Rihanna 

Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony has weighed in on the debate that ensued after Boston Globe NBA reporter Gary Washburn was the only voter to cast his NBA MVP first-place vote for Anthony instead of LeBron James. “As far as the guy in Boston, I don’t know why he catches so much flak for that,” Anthony said after Game 2 of the Knicks-Pacers series Tuesday in New York. “He has the right to vote for whoever he want. LeBron won the MVP. Why is everybody so mad that he didn’t win it unanimously? ... Thank you.” Boston Globe

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Media, Gary Washburn 

The Pacers had largely bottled up Anthony in Game 1, forcing him into difficult shots and keeping him away from the rim. He broke through Tuesday, freeing himself from George and flying past David West and Roy Hibbert. “I can’t stop attacking,” Anthony said. “I can’t stop being aggressive out there on the basketball court. I think I did a good job of making some adjustments out there, just being patient. I thought that first game I was a little bit too impatient coming off the pick-and-rolls.” New York Times

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

"Raymond went out, he came in and he stepped up big time," Carmelo Anthony said. "Tonight, Pablo was spectacular on both ends of the court. He controlled the game, he controlled the ball, and on the defensive end, he pressured the ball and he got us getting up and pressuring the ball as a team." ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Raymond Felton, Pablo Prigioni 

Carmelo Anthony defended and then thanked Boston Globe writer Gary Washburn for giving him a first-place MVP vote, one that prevented LeBron James from being a unanimous winner. “As far as the guy in Boston, I don’t know why he catches so much flak for that,” Anthony said following Game 2. “He has the right to vote for whoever he want. LeBron won the MVP. Why is everybody so mad that he didn’t win it unanimously? . . . Thank you.” New York Daily News

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Media 

Carmelo Anthony shrugs off most criticism, but when the critique came from Bernard King, he noticed. On King’s twitter account a mild criticism appeared, urging Anthony to play more team ball. But as it gained attention, King claimed that the tweet wasn’t his - rather coming from “an associate” he told Newsday - and he shut the account down. “I found out about the alleged Bernard King tweet this morning when I got to shootaround,” Anthony said. “I didn’t think too much about it. I know Bernard very well and I heard he was trying to reach out to me to let me know it wasn’t something that he said, he just wanted to apologize. I didn’t really pay too much any mind to that at all.” Sulia

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Bernard King 

Brian Mahoney: Paul George, on what happened in this game: "Melo just caught fire." Twitter @briancmahoney

Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George 

When Carmelo Anthony joined the Knicks in 2011, he joined the ranks of New York’s most debonair athletes, with a rotating collection of pocket squares, tailored suits, chunky glasses and skinny ties. But his look has a secret ingredient, one that has become nearly as crucial a part of his public image as his scoring prowess. That secret ingredient is Khalilah Williams-Webb. New York Times

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

With Williams-Webb’s assistance, Anthony has become the latest in a long line of fashionable New York athletes that includes Joe Namath, famous for his fur coats, and Walt Frazier, champion of the fedora. Anthony favors custom-made suits, vintage jackets and high-end cargo pants, a look that has caught on among his peers in professional sports. New York Times

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

Knick legend Bernard King came through with some accurate and rock solid criticism of Anthony on Monday, discussing on his Twitter feed the various ways that Anthony could snap out of his isolation malaise and score efficiently on the Indiana Pacers in spite of his left shoulder injury. The Knicks, who employ King as an analyst for the MSG Network (to, you know, analyze the Knicks whether they win or lose), reportedly did not like King’s tweets in the wake of the team’s Game 1 loss to the Pacers, and King’s account has been shut down. Yahoo! Sports

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Bernard King 

The Knicks face a genuine must-win Game 2 against the Pacers, who took Game 1 of the second-round series, 102-95, Sunday at the Garden. A loss would put them down 0-2 heading to Indiana, where the Pacers beat the Knicks both times in the regular season. “We don’t want to do that,” Anthony said after yesterday’s practice. “We want to take care of business on our floor. We felt we gave them a game, which we did. We’ll redeem ourselves [tonight].” New York Post

Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

Someone else does think differently: Knicks legend and new Hall of Fame selection Bernard King, who took to Twitter Monday with three dispatches worth of pointed criticisms of Anthony and the Knicks. “If Carmelo’s shoulder is hurting that bad — work the paint — drive and dish — become a facilitator — it’s a TEAM game,” read one of them from King’s Twitter account. New York Daily News

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Twitter, Bernard King 

The official Twitter account for King, who does some broadcasting work for both MSG Network and NBA TV, was shut down shortly after the dispatches were posted. According to a published report, the Knicks claim King had allowed a friend to use his handle and that those posts did not reflect his “sentiment.” New York Daily News

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Twitter, Bernard King 

Bernard King: If Carmelo's shoulder is hurting that bad - work the paint - drive and dish - become a facilitator - it's a TEAM game @NBA @CarlBanksGIII Twitter @30BernardKing

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Bernard King 

The Knicks had strived all season to capture the second seed over Indiana to get home court in this series. And they gave back home court to the Pacers in one stinking afternoon. “You take out the X’s and O’s, they flat-out played harder than we did,’’ Anthony said. “They outplayed us and outworked us. Nothing else needs to be said about that.’’ Mike Woodson was stunned at the flat effort. “I thought they played harder than we did,” the coach said. “That was the difference. They did all the little things.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

A single voter kept LeBron James from making NBA history. The Miami Heat's superstar fell one vote shy of being the league's first unanimous MVP winner when the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn, a sports writer who has covered the NBA for nine years, cast his ballot in favor of the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony. The award is determined by a group of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters, and an online fan vote. "I just honestly felt that Carmelo Anthony lifted the Knicks to new heights this season – a No. 2 seed and their first division title in 19 years – with an aging roster, the team's second-best player [Amar'e Stoudemire] out most of the season and a myriad of other injuries," Washburn told Yahoo! Sports. "LeBron James is unquestionably the best player in the league, but I felt this season Anthony had more value to his team." Yahoo! Sports

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Media 

Al Iannazzone: Told he received one first-place MVP vote, Carmelo Anthony said, "That's the furthest thing from my mind. I'll take that vote." Twitter @Al_Iannazzone

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

Of course it was Dan Le Batard. The Miami Herald and ESPN reporter is taking credit as the only one to vote against James for the regular season MVP, instead electing to vote for the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony. And now he's paying (read: trolling everyone by retweeting every single person who tweets him incredulously) the price. Deadspin.com

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Media, New York, Dan Le Batard 

Howard Beck: For those who care: I'm told the one first-place MVP vote for Carmelo was NOT the fan vote. It was a writer or broadcaster. Twitter @HowardBeckNYT

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony