New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony reportedly admitted that he does not want to get into the "negativity" of Phil Jackson's recent comments about him and would just want to focus on playing basketball.

Jackson, the 11-time NBA champion coach and current president of basketball operations for the Knicks, had criticized Anthony on Dec. 6 after the team's 114-103 win over the Miami Heat, saying that the nine-time NBA All-Star "often holds on to the ball too long and stalls the offense".

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When asked about his response to his boss' recent comments about him, Anthony said that he does not want to entertain any negativity towards him and the Knicks, according to the New York Daily News.

"At the end of the day we're playing good basketball," said Anthony. "That's the only thing that matters at this point. So any negativity that's coming towards me or towards the team, I don't think we need it at this point."

The Knicks are currently having a great run winning five of their last six games. They are now tied with the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 13-10 slate. The team's only loss during the said time span was against the defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers, who routed them on Wednesday night.

The New York Times reported that Anthony is open to discussing things with Jackson, but the team president has yet to reach out to him.

"I just don't know what was behind the comments or where the comments came from," Anthony said. "I just want to continue doing what we're doing, playing ball. I feel like we're playing some good basketball, and just to kind of have a temporary black cloud over our heads after - I didn't know when the comments (were) made, or what was made, or the gist of the conversation... I just know that something was said."

Anthony is currently averaging 22.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 33.8 minutes per game. He is shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from the three-point line, averaging 19.0 field goal attempts per game.

TagsNBA News & Rumors, NBA News & Rumors 2016, carmelo anthony, Phil Jackson, new york knicks