Tyson Chandler Shoves Spencer Hawes After Carmelo Anthony Smacks Him (VIDEO)

Carmelo Anthony took a cheap shot at the back of Spencer Hawes’ head, and when the Philadelphia Sixers big man stepped to Melo, Tyson Chandler shoved him away. Per the NY Post: “Anthony was eventually issued a flagrant foul for his retaliation for what he said was an elbow to his throat. ‘I didn’t mean to hit him in the head,’ Anthony said. ‘It was just one of them plays. I wasn’t mad. I was just reacting to the elbow I caught.’ […] ‘It felt like a punch,’ Hawes said. ‘That’s why I was so [mad].’ Thanks to Chandler, Hawes never got near Anthony as both players were swarmed by teammates and officials. Technical fouls were issued and play resumed without further incident. Anthony losing his cool again after coach Mike Woodson lectured his team about its constant loss of composure is a bit troublesome. But Chandler’s reaction displayed the kind of grit and fight you want to see from the Knicks, the kind of fight they ultimately used to hold off the Sixers 99-93 last night at the Garden. The win not only snapped a four-game losing streak, but restored a sense of much-needed swagger or as much swagger as you can gleam from beating a team that had its own losing streak extended to five games. ‘I was just protecting my teammates,’ Chandler said after the Knicks won their first home game since Feb. 4.”