Nuggets edge Knicks in possible audition for Carmelo Anthony

Was this the last time Carmelo Anthony would ever play against the Knicks?

"I think we play them next month, right?" Melo slyly said on Tuesday, sidestepping any trade rumors.

The Nuggets all-star is looking East, but Tuesday night, the Knicks came to his town. And the Nuggets, playing in the second game of a back-to-back, defeated the visitors 120-118.

But the looming question on this night was the all-star's future.

As for the multifaceted Melo mess — the upcoming collective bargaining agreement, the $65 million, getting him to the East Coast — the Nuggets might not pull something off until closer to the Feb. 24 trade deadline, when teams get trigger-happy and a LeBron-like reality sets in.