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Knicks' Carmelo Anthony Calls Allegations Of Selfishness 'Slap In The Face'

For the better part of a week now, the basketball world has been speculating about whether Carmelo Anthony can coexist with Jeremy Lin once he returns from injury to rejoin the invigorated New York Knicks.

Anthony has been listening, and the criticism is getting to him.

"That's like a slap in the face," Anthony said during an interview with Stephen A. Smith on SportsCenter on Wednesday night. "None of my teammates I've ever played with would say that I was a selfish player. Nobody."

Anthony has been out since Feb. 6 with a strained right groin, and he's watched from the bench as Lin has led the Knicks to victory in seven consecutive games. Lin thrived with Anthony and Amare Stoudemire out of the lineup last week, but now there are questions about the youngster fitting with Anthony, who enjoys scoring in isolation situations.

"It's a tough situation. I'm human at the end of the day, so it's like damn, where is this coming from?" Anthony said. "I know I'm not a selfish player. People around me know I'm not a selfish player. I do everything I can to make people around me understand I'm not a selfish player."