Knicks hope to have Anthony in visit with Mavs

(SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Knicks might be without Carmelo Anthony Wednesday night when they continue their road trip at American Airlines Center versus the Dallas Mavericks.

Anthony is listed as doubtful with back spasms. He injured his back and left in the second quarter of New York's 91-86 road loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday.

Anthony finished with 14 points and the Knicks had a six-point lead with just under nine minutes left. The Rockets closed the game on an 18-4 run to send the Knicks to a 1-6 road mark.

"We just didn't have enough down the stretch," Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire said.

Stoudemire was correct indeed. Anthony was the leading scorer despite leaving in the second quarter and no other member of the Knicks finished in double figures.

The Knicks have scored over 100 points just three times this season. They rank 25th in the NBA in scoring at 94.8 ppg.

New York closes its road trip in Oklahoma City on Friday and it might be just in time for the returns of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who both returned to practice this week.

This matchup on Wednesday has the interesting subplot of Tyson Chandler. He signed with the Knicks as a free agent in 2011, won a Defensive Player of the Year award, then was traded back to the Mavericks this past offseason.

There was some hurt feelings between the parties, but Chandler is ready to move on.

"In all honesty, I'm so focused on the Mavericks that the Knicks are in my rearview mirror. I don't mean that in a negative way, but it's in the past, and I'm moving forward," he told ESPNDallas.com

Dallas has lost consecutive games for the first time this season. The Mavs fell at Houston to the Rockets, then lost at home to the undermanned Indiana Pacers, 111-100, on Monday.

Monta Ellis had 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 with 11 rebounds for the Mavericks, who have dropped two in a row following a six-game winning streak.

Dallas forward Chandler Parsons called the loss against the short-handed Pacers "embarrassing."

"We have no room for this, especially in the Western Conference, how tight everything is," said Parsons, who scored 16. "There is no excuse for this. We have to come out and play harder, and we can't allow a team like this to come into our place and beat us."

Dallas shot 50 percent from the field, but the difference was Indiana went 13- for-26 from long range, while the Mavericks shot 8-for-24 from the 3-point arc.

The Mavericks hit the road for a four-game trek following the holiday. They will visit the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks.

These two sides have split the previous six meetings, but the Mavericks are 12-2 in their last 14 at home against the Knicks.