The New York Knicks will try for their first win on a five-game trip Thursday night when they face the Portland Trail Blazers at 10:30 p.m. ET.
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Carmelo Anthony, the team's leading scorer is returning to New York to have his ailing right knee drained and there is no timetable for his return. The Knicks are 5-5 without Anthony this season.
"I'm going to go get it drained, get the fluid out. Get to the bottom of it quick, so I can get back on the court," he said.
Anthony returned to the lineup for the start of their road swing, but has struggled after a three-game absence due to the injury. He scored 14 on 4-of-15 shooting in a 29-point loss at Golden State on Monday before finishing with nine on 3 of 12 from the field against the Nuggets.
New York is already missing Amar'e Stoudemire (knee surgery) and Rasheed Wallace (foot) in the frontcourt, but All-Star center Tyson Chandler is expected to play on Thursday after going down with a bruised left knee in the first half against the Nuggets.
J.R. Smith, the team's top scoring option in Anthony's absence, has struggled with 24 points on 8-of-23 shooting on this trip. He had 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 105-100 loss to the Trail Blazers on Jan. 1.
Iman Shumpert will also try to provide a spark after finishing with a season-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting on Wednesday.
After outrebounding the Knicks by a 47-37 margin in the first meeting, Portland may be able to take advantage of a banged-up New York interior that has been outrebounded by a 112-75 margin in its last two games.
Following back-to-back losses and three in four games overall, the Knicks (38-24) have fallen one game behind Indiana for second place in the Eastern Conference. They're also nursing a 1 1/2-game edge over Brooklyn atop the Atlantic Division.
Portland (29-34), meanwhile, looks to breathe some life into its fading playoff hopes as it trails the Los Angeles Lakers by 3 1/2 games for the final playoff spot in the West.
"Definitely that door is closing," LaMarcus Aldridge said. "We're going to have to string together some wins fast or that door is going to close on us."
