Knicks lose again to Cavaliers

This is why the trade was supposed to be so grand. Carmelo Anthony with the ball in the final seconds. The game on the line.

This is why the trade so far has looked mediocre. The Knicks can't play defense and Anthony did not deliver like a superstar in the final two minutes.

Anthony committed two charges in the final 1:32, including the crusher with 1.8 seconds left, and Knicks blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead in allowing the league-worst Cavaliers to score at will down the stretch in a disgraceful 119-115 Garden defeat.

As an exasperated coach Mike D'Antoni walked out of the Garden, the Knicks coach muttered to a friend, "We can't guard anybody."

At least anybody wearing a Cavaliers jersey. Cleveland is 12-49 this season, but 3-0 against the Knicks. One week ago, the Knicks allowed the Cavs to score 115 points. Last night, in what Anthony called a "payback" game, Cleveland got to 119. Good thing the Knicks don't face the Cavs in the first round.

The day after the trade for Anthony, in a quiet moment, D'Antoni admitted he was worried if the Knicks would be good enough on defense. So far, the answer is no.

"We're not thinking about offense," Anthony said more than an hour after the game. "We scored 115 points. That's the easy part. We're just trying to figure it out, what we're going to do on the defensive end.

"I really don't want to say it's embarrassing, but it is a tough loss. Knowing we went out in Cleveland and lost to them, knowing how important it is to take care of home court. It's a tough one to fathom."

Trailing by two points after blowing a 12-point fourth-quarter lead, Anthony drove on Anthony Parker and beat him, but Newark's Samardo Samuels stepped up and took a charge as Anthony's layup missed.

"I guess it was an offensive foul," Anthony said. "[The official] called it. I didn't want to settle for a jump shot at that time. I saw a clear path. The guy [Samuels] came in and stepped in. He took a big charge."

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