Carmelo Anthony lost his cool after Boston Celtics bigmouth Kevin Garnett reportedly said his wife “tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios” — a dig at Anthony, who is estranged from his sweet spouse.
The NBA superstars nearly came to blows Monday night after Garnett incorporated the General Mills cereal in a fit of trash talking about reality TV-star La La Anthony.
“Your... wife tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios,” Garnett told Anthony in a heated Eastern Conference game at Madison Square Garden, according to the website Black Sports Online.
Garnett’s slight came off as offensive and tasteless to Melo, who is having marital problems. Garnett and Anthony had to be separated on court and both were hit with technical fouls. But the insult left Anthony so upset he sought out Garnett after the 102-96 Knicks loss, apparently to settle the score.
An infuriated Anthony yelled at Garnett outside the Celtics’ locker room immediately after the game. He then tried to confront Garnett later as the Celtics were boarding their team bus to leave the Garden.
Garden security, five NYPD cops and Knicks coach Mike Woodson raced to defuse a potentially volatile scene at the midtown arena.
Anthony and his wife have been living apart for at least two months, and La La rang in the New Year without him in Miami’s South Beach, the source said.
“Getting ready to shut down Miami TONIGHT. Happy New Year!” La La tweeted from South Beach on New Year’s Eve.
Anthony refused Tuesday to confirm what Garnett said to set him off, but he acknowledged that the caustic Celtic “crossed the line.”
The NBA superstars nearly came to blows Monday night after Garnett incorporated the General Mills cereal in a fit of trash talking about reality TV-star La La Anthony.
“Your... wife tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios,” Garnett told Anthony in a heated Eastern Conference game at Madison Square Garden, according to the website Black Sports Online.
Garnett’s slight came off as offensive and tasteless to Melo, who is having marital problems. Garnett and Anthony had to be separated on court and both were hit with technical fouls. But the insult left Anthony so upset he sought out Garnett after the 102-96 Knicks loss, apparently to settle the score.
An infuriated Anthony yelled at Garnett outside the Celtics’ locker room immediately after the game. He then tried to confront Garnett later as the Celtics were boarding their team bus to leave the Garden.
Garden security, five NYPD cops and Knicks coach Mike Woodson raced to defuse a potentially volatile scene at the midtown arena.
Anthony and his wife have been living apart for at least two months, and La La rang in the New Year without him in Miami’s South Beach, the source said.“Getting ready to shut down Miami TONIGHT. Happy New Year!” La La tweeted from South Beach on New Year’s Eve.
Anthony refused Tuesday to confirm what Garnett said to set him off, but he acknowledged that the caustic Celtic “crossed the line.”
"It’s something you just don’t say to men, another man,” Anthony said following practice at the Knicks’ training facility in Greenburgh.
“My mindset and motive of going back there to see him at the locker room and seeing him at the bus, I wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with him and talk about it like two grown men,” Anthony said.
Anthony, 28, did call Garnett, 36, after the confrontation at the Garden bus ramp, according to NBA sources.
League officials are looking into the incident, as it does with all matters involving players requiring police to stop an altercation.
“Nothing happened for me to be suspended,” Anthony said. “I wanted to talk to K.G. and I think it was something we both needed to get off our chests and see what really was the problem. There were no altercations. It was just words and a conversation we just needed to have.” In hindsight, Anthony admitted, “I lost my cool.”
“It just was out of character,” he said. “I allowed some negativity to come into my circle.
“It’s over with for me. Whatever happened last night, happened. The words that was being said between me and Garnett, it happened; can’t take that away. I accept that, but there’s just certain things that push certain people’s buttons.”
Woodson came to Anthony’s defense, saying a great player’s loss of composure can be forgiven.
“We’ve sat down and we’ve talked about it,” Woodson said. “Listen, Melo’s been playing at a high level and Melo likes winning. He’s tasted that here and he’s a big part of why we’re winning and hey, he just can’t have slippage like that.”
Anthony, 28, did call Garnett, 36, after the confrontation at the Garden bus ramp, according to NBA sources.
League officials are looking into the incident, as it does with all matters involving players requiring police to stop an altercation.
“Nothing happened for me to be suspended,” Anthony said. “I wanted to talk to K.G. and I think it was something we both needed to get off our chests and see what really was the problem. There were no altercations. It was just words and a conversation we just needed to have.” In hindsight, Anthony admitted, “I lost my cool.”
“It just was out of character,” he said. “I allowed some negativity to come into my circle.
“It’s over with for me. Whatever happened last night, happened. The words that was being said between me and Garnett, it happened; can’t take that away. I accept that, but there’s just certain things that push certain people’s buttons.”
Woodson came to Anthony’s defense, saying a great player’s loss of composure can be forgiven.
“We’ve sat down and we’ve talked about it,” Woodson said. “Listen, Melo’s been playing at a high level and Melo likes winning. He’s tasted that here and he’s a big part of why we’re winning and hey, he just can’t have slippage like that.”
Garnett, a 17-year NBA veteran, blamed the heat of the game for causing the blow up between him and Anthony.
“Yeah, it got intense in the end,” Garnett said following Monday’s dust-up.
On her Twitter account, the Brooklyn-raised La La, 33, was asked about Garnett’s trash talk by fans, but she refused to take the bait.
“Living life. Counting blessings, not burdens,” said La La, star of the VH1 reality show “La La’s Full Court Life.”
La La attended Monday night’s game, her first after a noticeable absence from the Garden. Last season, La La attended nearly every home game and even traveled on the road to watch the team play.
She’s also curbed her tweets about Melo this season after tweeting about him regularly last year.
It’s not the first time Garnett — known for making inappropriate comments on the court — has riled opposing players.
“Yeah, it got intense in the end,” Garnett said following Monday’s dust-up.
On her Twitter account, the Brooklyn-raised La La, 33, was asked about Garnett’s trash talk by fans, but she refused to take the bait.
“Living life. Counting blessings, not burdens,” said La La, star of the VH1 reality show “La La’s Full Court Life.”
La La attended Monday night’s game, her first after a noticeable absence from the Garden. Last season, La La attended nearly every home game and even traveled on the road to watch the team play.
She’s also curbed her tweets about Melo this season after tweeting about him regularly last year.
It’s not the first time Garnett — known for making inappropriate comments on the court — has riled opposing players.
In 2010, he was accused of calling Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva “a cancer patient.”
The comment struck a nerve with Villanueva, who suffers from of alopecia, which stops hair growth.
On Mother’s Day 1999, he upset San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan by shouting, “Happy Mother’s Day, motherf---er!” as Duncan, whose mother died of cancer when he was 14, prepared to shoot free throws.
Knicks fans, specifically young kids from Anthony’s old Red Hook, Brooklyn, neighborhood, still idolize the star — and seemed understanding of the Olympic gold medalist taking umbrage at a slight against his wife.
The comment struck a nerve with Villanueva, who suffers from of alopecia, which stops hair growth.
On Mother’s Day 1999, he upset San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan by shouting, “Happy Mother’s Day, motherf---er!” as Duncan, whose mother died of cancer when he was 14, prepared to shoot free throws.
Knicks fans, specifically young kids from Anthony’s old Red Hook, Brooklyn, neighborhood, still idolize the star — and seemed understanding of the Olympic gold medalist taking umbrage at a slight against his wife.
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Garnett alleged told Anthony: 'Your... wife tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios' -- a comment that set the Knicks star off.
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“Sometimes you just flip out. But I think Carmelo is a good person,” said Caleb Lewis, 13, who was shooting hoops Tuesday with buddies in Red Hook. “He’s from here like us. He’s a good player. We all get angry sometimes. It doesn't mean we are bad people or bad role models.”
Carl Sanders, who runs the Carmelo Anthony Youth Basketball League in Red Hook, also expressed sympathy for Melo.
“It’s very offensive,” Sanders said of Garnett’s comment about Anthony’s wife. “That’s someone stepping into his personal space.
"I've known Carmelo for many years,” Sanders said. “He made a lot of mistakes at the beginning. But in the last several years, he has stepped up to help out in his community. He has shown a lot of character.”
Carl Sanders, who runs the Carmelo Anthony Youth Basketball League in Red Hook, also expressed sympathy for Melo.
“It’s very offensive,” Sanders said of Garnett’s comment about Anthony’s wife. “That’s someone stepping into his personal space.
"I've known Carmelo for many years,” Sanders said. “He made a lot of mistakes at the beginning. But in the last several years, he has stepped up to help out in his community. He has shown a lot of character.”
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