Carmelo Anthony Out for Knicks vs. Celtics with Back Injury

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony will miss Sunday's game against the Boston Celtics with a back injury.

Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reported Anthony and Derrick Rose will sit out the nationally televised matchup. It will be Anthony's fourth missed game in the Knicks' last six. Sasha Vujacic was inserted into the starting lineup and played 36 minutes in Friday's win over the Miami Heat.

Anthony has been largely healthy each of the last two seasons. He missed only 10 games in 2015-16 and has played in 71 of the Knicks' 76 games so far this year. Lingering knee pain cropped up in March, and he's gotten some rest days, but Anthony has been a fixture in the lineup for the most part.

That has not resulted in success for the Knicks, who are set to miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season. 

It's even possible at this juncture that the Knicks shut Anthony down and attempt to see what the young players on their roster can provide.