'Melo Can't Carry Knicks to Victory .
For one half, Carmelo Anthony did his best Game 2 impression. The Knicks star did everything he could to keep his on-the-brink team alive. He hit long-distance threes, played a little point guard and did his part in rebounding the basketball, just as he did in his 42-point, 17-rebound performance last week. His 19 points at halftime Sunday accounted for exactly half of the Knicks' output to that point. In the end, though, the outcome was the same: Anthony's standout performance—32 points, nine rebounds and three assists—was left to stand largely on its own. And it wasn't enough to topple the Celtics. But Anthony, looking to the future, air yeezy said there was a greater takeaway point from the game and the series as a whole. "Tonight, we proved to a lot of people, short-handed or not, that we're gonna leave it all out there on the court," he said. "We did that. I'm sure we gained a lot of respect from a lot of people right now. "This is the first step of something great," he said, echoing what teammate Amar'e Stoudemire had said minutes before about the team's laying a foundation for a future title run. Anthony made mention of the fact that the Knicks had just two months to play together, leaving little time to develop chemistry. In between the comments from the two Knicks stars, Celtics forward Paul Pierce spoke to New York's basketball revival. He said the team's fight led the Celtics to shake hands with the Knicks on the court as the final seconds expired. "They earned our respect," Pierce said. "They have something the fans can get excited about. If you add a few more pieces, they aren't that far away." Both Stoudemire and Anthony were asked about uncertainty hanging over the club. Will team president Donnie Walsh and Coach Mike D'Antoni return? And what type of players should the management get in an effort to deepen the roster? The stars said it was out of their hands, but they said they have a responsibility to improve. "As a group, collectively, we have to come together and see where we are lacking and where we have to get stronger," Anthony said. "I am sure we will try to figure out, not just a playoff team, a championship caliber team."