Gerald Green's nasty two-handed reverse silences Knicks crowd (VIDEO)

Gerald Green took off on a fast break in the second quarter against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday, and with no defenders in sight, you knew it was showtime.

After stealing the ball, Green went up and easily threw down the two-handed reverse jam in front of the usually raucous New York crowd — but it sounds like nobody noticed. 

The Knicks went on to beat the Suns for their fifth straight victory.

Carmelo to Knicks: Don't put Shumpert on trading block

Carmelo Anthony wasn't happy to hear about rumors surrounding Iman Shumpert that the New York Knicks were tendering trade offers for the struggling swingman.

"He shouldn't be worrying about that," Anthony said. "The Knicks shouldn't even be in trade talks right now."

Shumpert — who has had a rough time since his return from ACL surgery — was just plain dismal guarding guard Chris Paul in Sunday's 102-88 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.  Shumpert scored just two points on 1-of-4 shooting in almost 21 minutes of play while Paul blistered the Knicks for 25 points and seven assists.

Talk about trading the young defensive stud to Phoenix for Jared Dudley and a first-round pick are getting louder.  So loud, head coach Mike Woodson pulled Shumpert aside before the Knicks debacle against the Clippers.

"He said, 'Don't worry about it,'" Shumpert recalled.  "Rumors are rumors. I just got to play ball.  something I can't control."

Woodson said a trade was out of his jurisdiction and up to Knicks brass.

"I don't think you can ever tell a player he's not [on the trading block].  That's kind of out of my hands," said Woodson. "If the owners came to me and said we have to do a deal, then you do the deal. I sat him down and I told him. He knows how I feel."

Shumpert discussed the Paul game and his recent slump.

"It's a challenge to guard a guy like Chris Paul when you're not in the best form," said Shumpert. "Sooner or later, I'll get back to where I was."

If it's up to 'Melo, it'll still be in New York.

'Melo denies three-point celebration is gun related

After Carmelo Anthony's 34 points burned the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon, New York Daily News writer Mitch Lawrence took a shot at the New York Knicks forward by saying his three-point celebrations looked like he was pointing a gun to his head and was a bad image for the player and the game.

Lawrence wrote:

"Here was Carmelo Anthony draining four 3-pointers against an inferior Phoenix Suns team on Sunday at the Garden and then putting a couple of fingers next to his head every time he hit one, as if he were shooting himself.  On his fourth one, he was quite emphatic.

With the Jovan Belcher murder-suicide in Kansas City happening the day before, with guns so prevalent  in society and wreaking so much carnage, it hardly looks like the appropriate way to celebrate an NBA three."

Anthony fired back at the suggestion his three-to-the-head salute had anything to do with guns.

"No. Never. Of course not," insisted the Knicks star as he left the locker room with his young son, Kiyan.

"Hell, no!" he emphasized.

No one will deny the existence of gun references in music, movies and the so-called gang lifestyle that is sucked up by the media and imitated in the streets as well as the suburbs, but Anthony says he is not playing that hand.

"I know how people will look at it," he said.  "But it's just three points, that's all."

While teammate Steve Novak mimics strapping on a championship belt after one of his many threes, Lawrence insists the Knicks players seem to be "sticking with the sign, created by Rasheed Wallace" which glorifies the gun culture.

Only Anthony used it on Sunday but, in their previous win against the hapless Washington Wizards, Lawrence writes, "it seemed that everyone did the three-to-the-head signal."

"It just means three," Novak said of Wallace's sign.  "We just sit around and come up with these kinds of silly things."

If the celebration is a gun reference — as has been suggested by stories on the Internet — Anthony isn't having any of it.

"I'm just representing my man, Rasheed Wallace — three-to-the-dome," said Anthony.  "It's just three, nothing major."

Phoenix Suns looking for someone to fill Gorilla suit

How would you like to scare and delight children, fly through hoops of fire and see every Phoenix Suns' home game to boot.  Sounds too good to be true?  It isn't.  The NBA team is looking for someone to perform as the Phoenix Gorilla — the iconic, hairy mascot for the Suns' fans.

If you want your mom see your actual face on a magazine cover, don't bother trying out.  The identity of the Phoenix Suns Gorilla, aka "Go," is kept more secretive than Mitt's tax return.

The Suns placed an ad looking for a new body to fill the gorilla suit and the requirements of the job:

Mascot - Phoenix Suns (Phoenix, AZ)

Position summary:
Be a world-class performer and ambassador for the Phoenix Suns organization both on the court and at appearances (charities, schools, hospitals, local businesses, etc.). Continue the great Gorilla "Go" tradition of making people smile, leaving them with long-lasting/positive memories, and representing the team with pride and passion. This is a full-time, salaried position reporting to our Vice President, Game Entertainment.

The world-famous Phoenix Suns Gorilla has been around since 1980 and was one of the first mascots inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame.  

If you thought the odds of becoming a professional athlete were slim, try becoming a professional sports team mascot.  There are only 30 in the country. 

Besides pumping up fans and riling opponents at games, Go hits dozens of charity events around the world.  The job is not just dragging your knuckles around like an ... ape.

Other job qualifications the team is looking for from candidates include:

• College degree
• 2 years mascot experience
• Acro-dunk experience
• Weekend and extended hours
• Withstand and perform under extreme heat
• Great sense of humor

What happened to the old gorilla?  The Phoenix Gorilla was involved in an altercation at a Tempe, Ariz., restaurant when a Miami Heat fan punched him in the nose. That gorilla was a backup performer named Robert Woolf — and not the regular Go seen at games.

The new Phoenix Gorilla won't be working for bananas either.  Woolf said the Suns' simian makes up to $200,000 a year.

4-year old breaks down after Steve Nash is traded to Lakers

A four-year old girl took the news pretty hard after she found out her favorite player Steve Nash was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Los Angeles Lakers.

All the little girl wanted was an autograph from the NBA star and was heartbroken after her mother broke the news of last week's trade.  When the blindsided kid learned she may never get Nash's signature she wailed," I'm never gonna like him anymore."

There's no truth to matter— a far as I know— that there's a video floating around with Amare Stoudemire breaking down and saying the same thing when the New York Knick got the news.



I'm sure the crushed little fan will get her autograph after Nash sees this video.  It remains to be seen if the girl still has the same affection for Nash after he lights up the Suns next season.  Young love is a fickle thing.