Knicks' Melo says low blow by Argentina was 'uncalled for'

LONDON — Hard fouls are fine. Carmelo Anthony has a problem with cheap shots.

The forward for the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team took one Monday night when Argentina guard Facundo Campazzo hit him in the groin while Anthony was shooting a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the third quarter during the Americans’ 126-97 victory.

“It was definitely a cheap shot. Something like that, I don’t play like that, I don’t agree with that,” Anthony said Tuesday before practice. “If you’re going to foul somebody ... foul them hard, but you don’t take a shot like that. So I don’t agree with that, but at this point there’s really nothing that nobody can do about it.”

The play happened in front of the U.S. bench, and Anthony’s teammates were irate as the New York Knicks All-Star fell to the court in pain after making the shot. Anthony says they were angry because they knew it was “uncalled for” and wouldn’t happen in their league.

“Nobody takes cheap shots like that,” Anthony said. “That was a cheap shot. He got one, he took it, he got away with it. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Campazzo said after the game he apologized to Kobe Bryant but not to Anthony, because Chris Paul hadn’t apologized for punching him earlier in the game. cm-bd

Anthony and coach Mike Krzyzewski said they hadn’t watched a replay but were putting the incident behind them and looking toward Wednesday’s quarterfinal game against Australia.

About the Authors

  • London 2012 Olympics

    MARK CANNIZZARO

    Mark Cannizzaro is a Senior Sports Writer who's been with The Post since 1993. Cannizzaro, who was Jets beat writer for 18 years, now writes columns, news and features with an emphasis on football and golf, covering other sports as well. He carries a 10 handicap on the golf course, is the reigning "Doc Rot" champion of the annual sports department golf tournament, and prides himself as the 2010 winner of The Post's Bettor's Guide NFL picks.

  • London 2012 Olympics

    MARC BERMAN

    Marc Berman has been covering the Knicks since 1998, after serving as Islanders beat writer for a year when he joined the Post. He’s also covered U.S. Open tennis, and authored "Living Without Ew: The Crash of the Post-Ewing Knicks." The APSE award winner and SUNY-Albany graduate covered Phil Jackson, Bill Musselman and George Karl as Albany Patroons beat writer.

  • London 2012 Olympics

    MIKE VACCARO

    A columnist for the Post since November 2002, Mike Vaccaro has reported from four Olympics, 12 World Series, 10 Super Bowls, eight Final Fours and five U.S. Opens, among the hundreds of events he has covered in his 20-year newspaper career. His "Open Mike" and "Vac’s Whacks" are regular Sunday features, and he has written three books, the latest -- "The First Fall Classic," about the 1912 World Series between the Giants and Red Sox -- is out Oct. 6.

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