Carmelo Anthony leaves Knicks-Celtics game with ankle injury

Carmelo Anthony went down after coming into contact with a referee in the second quarter of the New York Knicks game against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Near midcourt after a missed shot, Anthony fell to the court after appearing to turn his ankle. He stayed on the court in pain briefly before walking off the court and to the locker room under his own power, albeit gingerly.

Anthony returned to start the second half after retaping his injured ankle, but was slowed on the court. Unable to move properly, he exited the game and returned to the locker room. Shortly thereafter, the Knicks broadcast team announced that Anthony would not return due to a sprained ankle. His X-rays were negative.

Looked like Carmelo Anthony slipped on either a wet spot or the ref or both. Left to locker room. pic.twitter.com/NuGExB9nZ7

— KL Chouinard (@KLChouinard) January 13, 2016

Anthony has been playing great basketball as of late, leading the Knicks to new heights with great passing and leadership. The veteran is averaging 21.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this season. Heading into the matchup with the Celtics on Tuesday, the Knicks were 19-20 having won four of their last five games.

Along with rookie Kristaps Porzingis, Anthony has helped turn around a Knicks team that had the worst record in the East last season at 17-65.

We will update this post as more information comes in.