Well, put it this way. The fans in Denver are having a huge laugh at the expense of the New York Knicks.

The Knicks record S.A.D. (Since Anthony Deal) is 7-9, and their season record has fallen from a high water mark of seven games over .500 to one game below .500, at 35-36. They’ve fallen behind the surging Philadelphia 76ers into seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Although there doesn’t appear to be a good chance of the Knicks falling out of the top eight finishers to qualify for the post-season tournament, one could not look at how the team is currently playing and discount the possibility of a complete collapse, either.

The Knicks have gone from being a team coach Mike D’Antoni loved coaching, mixing and matching the variety of talents (and weaknesses) of players like Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, and Danilo Gallinari into a cohesive, fun team to watch  while they struggled and soared within D’Antoni’s system to one that is less dynamic and less interesting. We know which of the two star players are going to be taking the majority of shots and we also note there is less ball movement and far less defense being played. 

D’Antoni’s teams, both in Phoenix and in New York, have always been flawed, especially at the defensive end of the floor but they have always been fun to watch. Now, he’s coaching a team he clearly DIDN”T sign up to coach which consists of two offensive superstars and ten other guys. The chemistry has yet to be seen between these two players, Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, and there is no indication it’s coming anytime soon.

After a mid-season trade of this magnitude, it is to be expected that there will be far more roadblocks to success than free pathways into the playoffs but, there were enough warning signs before the deal was consummated that Anthony might not be a good fit within D’Antoni’s system.

As great an offensive force as Anthony may be, he is a player who is not known for being a quick decision-maker with the ball. Once he gets his touch, the basketball tends not to leave his hands except for the sole purpose of going through the hoop. In D’Antoni’s offense, if the shot is there when you’re thrown the ball, take it. In Anthony’s case, if the shot is not there, juke here, deke there, drive or dribble and stop and pop. In other words, Anthony becomes the black hole for the offense, never to be seen again in another Knicks hands on any given possession.

D’Antoni cannot be happy about it. He won’t say so, of course but we can read his body language and his clipped tone after losses, which have been piling up. He thought he had the makings of a good, young, scrappy team in New York that was of his creation. Now, he’s more or less charged with turning Dolan’s deal into a winning unit.

He may choose to walk away from it after this season, though. With Donnie Walsh being dangled at the end of a string by Dolan, with no indication Dolan is in any hurry to re-up the most respected member of the Knicks organization to a new contract, D’Antoni may be losing the one person with whom he has worked well and can call an allie within the organization. If the coach decides not to come back, one also senses Dolan will let him walk, contract or no contract.

As the team is currently constructed, it is basically playing offense with three guys, Chauncy Billups, Anthony, and Stoudemire. The question is, how well can the Knicks be expected to do in the playoffs when they are going three on five on offense?

They brought in Jared Jeffries to play 25 minutes a night of center, admittedly for his defense and rebounding and ability to guard people on the perimeter at crunch time. But, can you be a real contender when on offense, you have a guy like Jeffries, who is decidedly not a Dennis Rodman type, sweeping the boards to the tune of 12-15 rebounds per game and blocking shots and shutting down whoever he guards. Nope, that’s not Jared Jeffries’ game. One can look at the nightly stat sheets and wonder exactly what Jeffries contributes to the cause, as he’s averaging 2 points, 3 rebounds, 0.4 blocked shots and 1.4 assists per game in his last five games, averaging 18 minutes per night.

The other member of the starting five, rookie Landry Fields, has been a huge asset and an even bigger surprise. But, since the Knicks acquired Anthony, Fields, the so-called shooting guard has dropped in production drastically, hitting for only 7.8  points per game and 4 rebounds. This precocious rookie had been getting double-digit points and rebounds for most of the season, prior to Anthony’s arrival. Now, he’s an afterthought.

Ultimately, it comes down to the Knicks owner, Dolan, who went all-in three days before the trading deadline and made a deal that, according to sources, neither Walsh nor D’Antoni endorsed. It doesn’t mean that Dolan made the wrong move. It just means that if the Knicks continue to struggle with Stoudemire and Anthony, someone is going to take the fall – and owners don’t fire themselves. Or, someone (make that plural) will walk away from this dysfunction.

It’s simple, really. One of the most famous teams on earth, one with a long pedigree in the NBA, playing in the media capital of the world today introduced one of the biggest stars in the world to a huge media assemblage this afternoon at Madison Square Garden, aka The World’s Most Famous Arena, as its newest attraction. Are you getting this world-impact theme?

Welcome to the world, new New York Knick, Carmelo Anthony.

The 26-year old Anthony, just acquired in a multi-player, multi-team trade is expected to raise the profile of everything he touches in this town. His arrival has further energized the Knicks fan base, which already was smiling this year due to the significant improvement in their teams’ performance since the off-season free agent signing of Amar’e Stoudemire, the 6’10” superstar.

Now, with Stoudemire and Anthony in the fold, the bar has been raised again. The Knicks now have two immovable forces who can score the basketball with relative ease. These two players, along with veteran point guard, Chauncey Billups, also acquired in the trade, will be expected to team up to lead the Knicks, if not this year then in the very near future, to an NBA championship.

At the very least, there will be intense media coverage of this team and of its stars, and of it’s performance, and of its coach, and of its front office, where a different kind of soap opera has been taking place over the course of the workings of this Anthony trade.

The big questions will be:

1. How long will it take for the Knicks chemistry on the floor to kick in?
2. Will Anthony and Stoudemire be more like Bob MacAdoo and Spencer Haywood, an earlier Knicks attempt to play two superstars at the same time, getting in each other’s way and never developing a winning combination in the front court?
3. Will great offense always get in the way of solid, championship defensive play on this team, leading to high-scoring losses instead of high-scoring wins.
4. Will Mike D’Antoni, not the biggest supporter of slowed-down, defensive struggles, be able to turn this new pool of talent into a winning pool?
5. Will D’Antoni’s somewhat veiled disagreement with how many pieces the Knicks gave up in this trade prevent him from properly coaching his new players.
6. Will these final 28 games of the NBA season be enough time for this team to be ready to win in the upcoming playoffs?
7. Will the Knicks, currently in sixth place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoff race, even make the playoffs or will these drastic changes lead to a blow-up of the season of historical proportions?
8. Will Donnie Walsh, brought in three years ago to clean up the mess left by Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas, be relieved of his duties by Knicks owner, Jim Dolan after Walsh made it very clear he was not on board with how many players the Knicks lost to acquire the high-scoring but defensively-challenged Anthony and an aging, 34-year old Billups.

This soap opera is just beginning. Strap on your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy, but highly-watched ride.

Except, the target of their joyous MVP! chant tonight was none other than the Knicks backup center from Russia, Timofey Mozgov, the seven-footer who had not seen the light of day on the basketball court in ten games.

In tonight’s 124-106 win, Mozgov put up numbers that astounded everyone, including Knicks coach, Mike D’Antoni. He played a career-high 40 minutes, scored a career-high 23 points, grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds (including five offensive rebounds) while shooting a nifty 9 of 15 from the floor (six dunks). He even hit five of his six foul shots.

Yes, it was a career night for the new darling of Knicks fans. And it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. The Knicks were playing extremely short-handed in the frontcourt, with neither Wilson Chandler (sore left calf) nor Shawne Williams (suspended for one game following a fight in Atlanta) available for the game.

In typical Mozgov fashion, the young center tempered his excitement about tonight’s performance.

“I was excited,” Mozgov said afterwards. “It was really, really good.

The kid didn’t look excited when he said it but the 23-year old Russian has significantly less skills with the English language than he possesses on the basketball court. He tried to convey his feelings to the press after his breakthrough game.

“You know, I do nothing (differently) for this game,” he said. “I do just what I do for every game. I work with the coaches – nothing special for this game.”

It appears Mozgov needs to continue to do nothing special in preparation for the remainder of his games, based on the very special night he enjoyed tonight.

“We always like him,” D’Antoni said. “We thought he had that potential. It just seemed like he was going to way too fast earlier [in the season].”

Mozgov, who had played in a lower level Russian league last season,  took the adversity of being somewhat over his head to work even harder on his game.

“The thing he did, which Toney Douglas did last year, was he kept working every day, kept working with our coaches and staying ready to go. He got a break today and he was unbelievable. He really played well and hopefully he can continue.”

It was a good thing Mozgov contributed when he did. The Knicks are hurting these days at the center position, with Amar’e Stoudemire, their true MVP candidate playing on two banged up knees while backup center, Rony Turiaf has been hobbled most of this season with an assortment of injuries which have limited his minutes, including shoulder and hip sprains. 

“Tim played great,” Stoudemire said in the locker room as both his knees and right ankle were weighted down with ice packs. “He’s one of those players who keeps working and keeps trying to improve. He’s a young player. Coach said I did a great job with him, keeping him in shape and keeping him enthused. He played well tonight.”

Mozgov’s performance was no surprise to Danilo Gallinari, who, according to D’Antoni had his best game of the season, scoring 29-points on 7 of 12 shooting, including 4 of 7 from three-point land and 11 of 11 from the free throw line.

“Timofey had a tough beginning but never put his head down and he had a great game,” said Gallinari. “He works so hard in practice. He showed things today that we know he can do because he does it every day in practice.”

The game was surprisingly close through three quarters as Detroit rode the hot hand of Mt. Vernon product, Ben Gordon, who scored a season-high 35 points in his return to his roots and the court where he became famous as a UConn Huskie.

“You got to give them a lot of credit,” said Gordon. “D’Antoni’s system is great and they have a lot of great players. A possible MVP candidate in Stoudemire, great point guard in Felton. Their big man, Mozgov played really well. Gallinari did his thing. We just didn’t have an answer for it.”

The Pistons had answers until the final quarter, when the Knicks took off on a 33-15 advantage to put the game out of reach. Stoudemire, who scored 26 points in the second half, chipped in 10 in the quarter while Gallinari shot a perfect 100% from the floor (2 of 2), the three-point stripe (2 of 2), and the foul line (5 of 5) to lead the Knicks with 11 fourth quarter points.

But, it was Mozgov’s night as the crowd kept their tongues firmly in their cheeks, not only with their MVP chants but with chants of “Mozgov, Mozgov!!” as time was running out.

The celebrities were out in droves tonight, including Howard Stern, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Donald Trump, Magic Johnson, Carrie Underwood, Tracy Morgan, and old Knicks regulars, Spike Lee and Woody Allen to watch one of the most exciting games of this or any other basketball season as the hometown Knicks defeated the Heat, 93-88 in a game that had the decibel levels of Madison Square Garden approaching eardrum-popping proportions. 

This was a game that had a little bit of everything, including superstars making unbelievable baskets or passes, role players hitting the key shots in crunch time,  and the crowd on its feet throughout.

Such was the case at Madison Square Garden tonight as NBA royalty LeBron James and Dwyane Wade led their Heat into New York to face off against the Knicks, an up and coming team that had been playing spotty basketball of late, having lost six of their past eight games.

When it was over, and the Knicks were winners behind a furious fourth quarter blitz in which they outscored the Heat, 29-15, you knew you had been to one of those rare happenings in sports that don’t occur with frequency. Behind Amar’e Stoudmire’s 24 points and Landry Fields, the cool customer Stanford rookie who calmly put in 19 points to go along with 13 rebounds from his guard position, the Knicks upped their record to 24-21 while the Heat dropped to 31-14.

The key points in the game came in the final minutes when, with the the Heat ahead by one, 84-83, Danilo Gallinari stepped back behind the three-point line and drilled a 25-footer with 1:18 left in the game to put the Knicks up, 86-84. When the Heats’ James Jones (James Jones taking a long-range three at the end of a close, conference game?) missed a three-point attempt, Fields, who has a nose for the ball, grabbed the rebound and soon followed with a huge 24-foot three-pointer to expand the Knicks’ lead to five, 89-84 with 49 seconds left.

“From this game, we learned that everyone has to be ready,” said Gallinari. “We all have to be ready in the crucial moment because the chance to hit the most important shot can get into your hands whenever.”

In Gallinari’s case, that “whenever” came at the game’s end, as he hit the shot that almost raised the Garden roof, the crowd noise being that loud.

“It was like a playoff game,” said Raymond Felton. “It’s always fun when it’s like that in the Garden.”

But it wasn’t over. It never is when the other team has James and Wade. James came right down to hit a driving layup and the game tightened again, 89-86 in the Knicks favor. Then, James, who struggled most of the night with 7 of 24 from the field, scored again to make it a one-point game, 89-88 with just 18 seconds left.

Felton dribbled the ball for scant seconds before he was fouled.  He hit both free throws to put the Knicks back up by three, 91-88. With nine seconds to go, Mario Chalmers, he of the 6 ppg. scoring average, took a pass from Wade and missed what could have been a game-tying 3-point shot. That’s right, Mario Chalmers, with James and Wade on the court, took the biggest shot of the game for the Heat. And of course, the famous James Jones earlier hoisting up a three at the one minute mark and the Heat down two.

“When I got back in during the fourth quarter, I trusted my teammates  and I got the ball and gave guys shots,” said Wade. “They just didn’t go down. I was playing point guard at that time so I was facilitating. We got some good shots but they just didn’t go in.”

Yeah, but…Chalmers and Jones? It just doesn’t have the same ring as Wade and LeBron. 

The two superstars of the Heat, who were both named starters earlier in the day for the Eastern Conference All-Star team, had contrasting performances tonight. James, who averages over 30 ppg. for his career against the Knicks, couldn’t find the basket for the first three quarters. Asked to play the power forward position to replace the injured Chris Bosh, James seemed out of place and out of sync on the offensive end. But, perhaps another reason for his dismal shooting performance could have been the defensive play of a Knicks sub, Shawne Williams. The 6’9” power forward from the University of Memphis was played much longer than usual by Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni for one sole reason. He was able to use his own 240 pound bulk to body up to James, not giving an inch to him on the defensive end and forcing King James into rushing shots.

It’s not often you see James affected by any defender in this league but D’Antoni may have discovered a rare jewel in Williams, who comes from the hard-scrabble neighborhoods of Memphis.

“Shawne is a very smart basketball player,” said D’Antoni. “If you know where he comes from, you know he doesn’t back down from anyone. I thought he did a good job on LeBron. He’s got a bigger body, he’s a little bit stronger and he kind of surprised me. I didn’t know he could do that. I’m not saying he shut down LeBron, don’t write that, I’ll get Shawne killed by the league, but he did a great job.”

Wade started out hitting his first 13 shots, a career-best for the superstar, and he seemed unstoppable for the majority of the game, until the final quarter. when D’Antoni put the rookie Fields on him. Wade shot 0 for 6 in the quarter, ending up with 34 points for the game after scoring 28 in the first half.

At games’ end, the Knicks, their fans, TNT, the celebs, and the NBA all walked out of the Garden with big smiles, knowing this sort of rivalry is a win-win for everyone connected to the sport.

Where there was once immense excitement over the way the Knicks had transformed themselves into an exciting team that made them the talk of New Yorkers, NBA players, and league marketing executives, now what remains after their recent reality check with losing basketball is a team that may have been exposed after just half a season.

The record now stands at 23-21, being left bloodied and battered against upper echelon teams like San Antonio and Oklahoma City, as well as a loss to Houston during their recent West Coast swing.

Amar’e Stoudemire, the prized free-agent signee, is now realizing how difficult it is to be the one player on a roster that strikes fear in the hearts and game plans of opposing teams. He’s been getting his butt beaten on for several games now, as defenses have discovered a simple fact to beating the Knicks. If you take off the head of the animal, you will defeat whatever it has left to fight with.

In the NBA, word gets around really fast. Stoudemire has noticed the difference.

“I’ve been getting banged around for a week and a half, now,” he said. “They’re definitely being a lot more physical with me…..after the play contact, too. Thank God for the weight room, though. I can get stronger, too.”

Stoudemire’s overall statistics have dipped precipitously in the month of January compared to the the previous month. He’s gone from a shooting percentage of 53.6% in December to just 42.7% in his last 11. His minutes have dropped from a very high 39 mpg to 35, still an astounding number for a player who has gone through micro-fracture surgery on his knee. His rebounds are down, from 9.7 per game to 8.9 and his scoring is down significantly, from 29.9 to 24.7.

Stoudemire Stats From December 2010 to January 2011

Against a terrible Wizards team, a team that now sits with a 13-30 record, Stoudemire and his mates were able to score without much interference. The problem is, they continue to have trouble stopping the other team, even one as bad as the Wizards, from keeping pace on the scoreboard.

The Knicks had four players in double-figures, led by Stoudemire’s 30 on 13 of 23 shooting. Wilson Chandler added 25, while Raymond Felton and Danilo Gallinari each chipped in with 17.

The Wizards, however, had five players in double-figures, while shooting over 48% from the floor. They outscored the Knicks 36-29 in the second quarter to take a lead into the half, 62-61.

“They wanted it a little more than we wanted it in the second quarter,” said Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni. “It’s too bad because we should have or could have put them away  and you have to do that if you want to be a serious team.”

And that’s exactly the point. If the Knicks want to be a serious team, they need to upgrade their talent level. It’s pretty clear they can contend for a playoff spot, perhaps as high as a sixth seed and show good improvement, no, make that great improvement over last season. But, D’Antoni’s right. If they want to be a serious team, a real contender for an NBA championship, this roster, as currently constructed will not compete at that level.

That realization seems to have hit the Knicks faithful here at the Garden where the buzz and the expectations for this team have gone decidedly lower than it had been only two weeks ago.

The only way to get the excitement in this building back to pre-losing streak levels is to win a few games against some of those “serious” teams, starting this Thursday against the Miami Heat, when the Big Three visit the Garden. The stakes and the competition will be decidedly bigger and better but frankly, until the Knicks do something great again, like win against a team of that caliber, Knicks fans will continue to be thankful for the improvement in their team without building any real hopes.

If you’re the New York Knickerbockers, and you’ve just lost your sixth consecutive game and the luster of an exciting season is quickly wearing off, you start to look at the next few weeks as a crossroads of sorts. You ask yourself what has gone wrong and what you need to do to right this sinking ship. You may come to the following conclusions:

1. Your star player, Amar’e Stoudemire is the only player on your roster who truly strikes fear in the hearts and game plans of your opponents. All the Feltons and Gallinaris of the world are almost interchangeable with plenty of other NBA players.
2. You come to the realization the opposition has decided that if they can stop Stoudemire from dominating and, play him more physically than they previously had, there is nobody else on the Knicks who can consistently carry the team.
3. You may also realize Stoudemire, despite his 6’10” 235 pound stature, is built to play the power forward position and not center, where the Knicks have been using him. He doesn’t have the bulk to consistently guard bigger players at the center position while the pounding he is taking from people who outweigh him by 30 or more pounds is starting to take it’s toll on the Knicks’ prize free agent signing this past off-season.

If you are the Knicks general manager, Donnie Walsh, you may want to take a peek at what the franchise decided to do when it was in a very similar position over 42 years ago, way back in 1968. The parallels are uncanny.

The Knicks had just moved that year from the “old” Madison Square Garden on Eighth Avenue and 49^th street into a spanking new version of The Garden, the very same building they still call home today but one that is undergoing sorely needed modernization and upgrading, even as you read this.

Those Knicks of 1968 were a talented team of players with solid NBA resumes. Their center, 6’11” Walt Bellamy was of all-star caliber, the power forward was a young, strong, 6’9”, 245 pound Willis Reed, who most people felt was better-suited to playing center, and the point guard was a very talented but sometimes erratic Walt “Clyde” Frazier. The other key players were guards Dick Barnett, a veteran shooter and Bill Bradley, a small forward out of Princeton who could shoot and pass the ball.

That team was good enough to win it’s share of games around the league, much as today’s Knicks appear capable of but for whatever reason, didn’t have the necessary chemistry to compete with the leagues’ elite teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

Back then, Knicks General Manager Eddie Donovan felt the Knicks were just one or two players away from being able to compete for an NBA championship, much like the Knicks hierarchy views today’s team. Donovan knew the key was to pull off a trade that would enable the young Reed to move back into the center position where he could use his quickness and shooting ability to be more effective. On the defensive end, Reed wouldn’t have to chase around the smaller forwards he was forced to guard while Bellamy, a more immobile, traditional inside player, banged with the bigger, slower centers in the league. Sounds a little like Stoudemire’s position dilemma, doesn’t it?

The opportunity to acquire a young power forward, very much in his prime named Dave DeBusschere became available to the Knicks because his Pistons team had new ownership taking over and they didn’t want to carry the expensive contract that surely would come with DeBusschere, their best player and trading asset.  This Pistons felt they could rebuild their team by getting multiple players in return for DeBusschere. Much like Denver is attempting to do.  Donovan felt Detroit’s asking price was too heavy and held out from doing a deal until Detroit’s leverage and therefore, its asking price went down.

Denver, Anthony’s team, would also like potential suitors for Anthony’s services to hand over the farm. Like the Pistons of 1968, the Nuggets’ leverage may be declining as the trading deadline of February 24th approaches and fewer teams appear capable of providing Denver with the quality and quantity of players it has demanded.

The fact that Donovan waited out the Pistons demands and then pulled the trigger on that deal, sending just Bellamy and point guard Howard Komives to the Pistons for DeBusschere, changed the face and the future of the franchise for several years. The Knicks quickly evolved into the leagues’ best team, winning NBA championships in 1970 and 1973. Obtaining DeBusschere became the final piece to the chemistry puzzle for then-Knicks coach, Red Holzman. Those teams of Frazier, Reed, Bradley, DeBusschere, and Barnett, along with  Earl Monroe have become legendary in NBA history and represent the last championship the Knicks have won. 

Yes, it’s been an amazing 37 years since the New York franchise in the NBA has won a title.

It’s now Walsh who sits at a similar crossroads for the Knicks. He has an opportunity to acquire Carmelo Anthony, one of the leagues’ highest scoring players and a forward who would automatically improve the offensive firepower of the Knicks while taking on a lot of the scoring load from Stoudemire. His presence on the floor would prevent teams from double-teaming Stoudemire and it would push a player like Raymond Felton down the line to becoming the Knicks third or fourth offensive option instead of the second option. On a championship contending team, Raymond Felton should never be a second scoring option. Ever. 

Walsh can be patient. He has until the deadline and can decide to pass if he feels Anthony will be a free agent in the summer.

The Nets’ apparent pullout last week is great news for the Knicks’ chances of landing Anthony, because they have leverage. Anthony’s preference all along has been the Knicks, but a report Wednesday said Anthony’s advisers also will attempt to steer him to Chicago.

“I’m not going to comment on what the owner of the Nets said,” Walsh told The Post on Wednesday night via phone. “And I don’t know what Denver wants to do. I’m sure tomorrow we’ll find out.”

Walsh said his talks with Denver have been limited.

“Donnie’s not comfortable in even knowing what Denver wants,” a source close to Walsh said.

The Knicks appear in the driver’s seat if the Nets are indeed out of the picture and their owner is not bluffing. The Rockets have been mentioned as possibilities and they are willing to do a deal without an extension.

Walsh was told by the Nuggets in preseason he would need a third team to get a deal done and it’s unclear if the Pistons, involved in the Nets’ talks, could join the fray again.

If Anthony goes to Houston, that could benefit the Knicks because the All-Star forward likely will be free this summer when the Knicks have salary-cap space and won’t have to give up assets.

NBA sources said the Nuggets probably will try to make another pitch for Anthony to sign their three-year, $65 million extension.

“I love my team,” Mike D’Antoni said before the Knicks’ 104-89 loss to the Rockets. “I like what we’re doing right now. But Donnie will take care of what he needs to take care of. He’s good at it and have all the faith in the world in him.”

A Knicks source said the club is “hopeful” the leverage is back on its side.

Prokhorov has granted the Knicks a giant gift and, if Anthony winds up with them, it will go down as one of the worst in a long line of Nets’ blunders.

“If he goes there, I have no control over that,” Prokhorov said regarding the Knicks at his press conference.

D’Antoni said, “It surprised everybody.”

The Nuggets now have to take a closer look at Danilo Gallinari, Landry Fields, and restricted free agent Wilson Chandler, whom Walsh told The Post he intends to sign this summer. Chandler could be a turnoff for the Nuggets because his rep is expected to seek a five-year, $60 million deal.

Eddy Curry’s expiring contract would also have to be included. Anthony Randolph could be shipped to Minnesota for a first-round pick that the Knicks would have to give to Denver.

A source said Walsh, whose priority this summer is adding a legitimate starting center (possibly restricted free agent Marc Gasol), is not willing to open up weaknesses and give up so many parts that it makes the team worse.

D’Antoni, with a cat-ate-the-canary grin, realizes the Anthony speculation regarding the Knicks will heat up more. But he said before the Houston game, “That’s fantasy basketball. I’m in reality.”

Asked if he wouldn’t want a big trade because he “loves” the team, D’Antoni said, “No, don’t put words [in my mouth].”

Knicks brass quietly waited for the Anthony-to-Nets deal to either fall apart or come to fruition. But earlier this season, Walsh made an interesting remark regarding a big move.

“It depends on how you see the team and what they need,” Walsh said then. “If that player is available and you don’t have to destroy the whole team, you consider it.”

You can bet that after these last six losses in a row, Walsh is considering a deal for Anthony now, and feverishly. After all, he has the benefit of looking back at history and seeing the impact Dave DeBusschere had on this franchise and this city.

But, the Knicks accomplished exactly that as they led the Boston Celtics for most of tonight’s thrilling game at Madison Square Garden before going down to defeat, 118-116 on Paul Pierce’s step-back jumper with 0.4 left on the game clock.

If the Knicks proved nothing else to themselves and to their faithful fans in a sold-out arena after this game, it’s clear now that the new New York Knicks are capable of competing against the league’s best, certainly an appropriate description for the Celtics. 

“We had them all night,” said Amar’e Stoudemire. “We played great basketball tonight. They did a good job down the stretch scoring the ball. Other than that, we played great ball.”

The first half demonstrated to this Knicks team and it’s fans that they could not only compete with the big, bad Celtics, but they could also take it to Doc Rivers’ team. The Knicks held leads throughout the half, by as much as 11 points but the Celtics stayed close, chiseling the lead down by increments. But, it was clearly the Knicks who were playing their style of basketball, making the Celtics scramble on defense to guard them.

“Real basketball players and people who understand the game know we have a good team and we can play with anybody when we play our game,” said Felton. “We play the same teams everyone else plays and I feel like this team can play with anybody in this league. We lost a tough one against possibly the best team in the league. They have a great coach and they’ve been playing together for a long time.”

The Celtics know they were in a dogfight with a hungry team that is just beginning to taste the fruits of their success.

“The Knicks test our defense,” said Pierce. “There are a couple of teams in the NBA that test us, and they are one of them. They go small ball and put four shooters on the court and then have a big man who is a leading scorer in the league who can pretty much shoot from anywhere. They’re a tough guard. They really challenge our defense, it was tough on us all night.”

Danilo Gallinari, scoreless in the first half and ineffectual in every way, started the second stanza with nine points in the first five minutes, including two monster jams that brought the crowd to its collective feet. 

The Knicks opened up a 12-point lead midway in the third quarter after a three-point shot by Landry Fields. But again, the Celtics didn’t let the Knicks get too far away as they kept creeping back.

Only in the last two minutes of the game did the Celtics show why they are the Celtics, a veteran, savvy, championship caliber team while the Knicks are trying to be the young upstarts.

After Felton hit a driving layup with 2:19 left to make it 113-109, Kevin Garnett, who is slower and less explosive but still 7 feet tall and effective in spots, got his own rebound off a missed layup and slammed it home at the 2:01 mark to bring the Celtics within two, 113-111.

Garnett followed that with another bucket, again on an offensive rebound inside, to tie it at 113 with 1:11 left.

Felton then drove the lane, missed a layup chance and the Celtics took off down the floor where Pierce found old reliable, Ray Allen alone in the corner for a three, a shot Allen could probably hit with his eyes closed after so many years of taking and making it.

Allen did what he always does, score the basket and with 1:02 to go in the game, with the Knicks crowd on their feet for most of the last quarter, the Celtics had their first lead of the game since the opening basket, when they led 2-0.

Gallinari came back down and hit a running 7-foot shot and was fouled by Pierce while in the act. Gallinari, shut out in the first half, came back to light up the second half with 20 points. He hit the free throw to tie it at 116 with 50 seconds left.

The Garden was rocking as it hasn’t for almost a decade as the fans waited for the Celtics to take possession after a timeout.

“On that last possession, it was a high screen and roll to a switch,” Stoudemire said. “Pierce was able to get the step back and he hit the jumper.”

“We wanted to go pick and roll at the top, me and Kevin,” said Pierce. “We knew they’d probably switch and coaches said win the game for us. I got to a spot on the right side, tried to drive it hard and pulled it right there on the right side of the court.”

Pierce, like Allen has hit that shot a gazillion times over his long and great career. This was no different and the ball went through the twine, taking the steam right out of the Garden crowd, which had created noise levels that reminded many Knick-watchers of the Patrick Ewing years and for those older Knick-watchers, of the Willis Reed, 1970’s teams.

But there were still those 0.4 of a second left on the clock, enough to throw the ball in and release a shot instantaneously. It would be a near miracle to catch and shoot it that quickly with accuracy, especially against a stingy Celtic defense.

D’Antoni had the rookie, Fields, throw the ball in from the mid-court sideline. He found Stoudemire, about 35 feet from the basket, with amazingly, an open look at the hoop. Stoudemire caught the ball and released it as the 19,763 fans in the stands watched the arc of the ball as it headed towards the basket. It seemed like it was in slow-motion as it traveled through the air.

“That was the play that was designed,” Stoudemire said. “I got the ball at the top and I just shot. I wasn’t sure if it was good or not but it felt good. It was just a second late.”

When the ball hit nothing but net, it was a shocking end to the best game seen in these parts in many years, except one thing. Stoudemire released the shot just barely 1/10 of a second too late, which was confirmed by the referees who went to the replay machine.

The old team had won again, but it was the young team that was feeling pretty good about themselves.

“I think it is a testament to where we are as a team,” said Landry Fields, who hasn’t seen many of these intense Garden matchups in his young career. “It is a tough loss but have to move on.”

“We definitely earned their respect,” said Stoudemire. I guarantee you that Boston  respects us. We are not slouches. We are going to play every single night until the horn goes off and Boston knows it. No question, we are playing great. We are just one step away from playing better. We are ahead of where we thought we would be at this point. We have room to improve. We can get better.”

It’s getting to the point where the league knows it, too.

NBA Notes: Stoudemire tied a season high with 39 points and recorded 10 rebounds over his 42 minutes. He extended his franchise record to nine consecutive games with at least 30 points.

The Sixers, like the Knicks, have been a struggling franchise for several years. They came into today’s game with a 1-5 record but are beginning to see the light of day under new coach, Doug Collins who left a cushy television commentator’s job to try to turn around this franchise.

“It felt so good to win, today,” Collins said. “It just feels good to see our guys feel good about themselves and to win on the road today.”

Amar’e Stoudemire had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, who were held to just 15 points in the final period. After consecutive wins, they heard boos from the home fans as they walked off the floor at 3-3.

“We had some mental lapses,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We came out too not focused like we needed to be.”

The Knicks had led for most of this game and seemed to be playing in cruise control. In the fourth quarter though, the Sixers turned up the defensive pressure and held the Knicks to 5 of 24 from the field, outscoring the home team 26-15 in that final stanza.

Collins has not had much to smile about, so far in the early part of the season but he was pleased by the contributions from his bench.

“We had so many guys play well,” he said. “Tony Battie came in and stabilized our defense, Jodie Meeks came in and gave us a huge shot in the arm. We played without Andre Iguodala for some stretches this year, and our guys have gotten in there and played well. That’s encouraging. All of a sudden, a man can’t play – Andre’s a U.S. Olympian, but Meeks and Lou Williams stepped in and gave us good minutes.”

Elton Brand is the one veteran on the Sixers who has an All-Star pedigree.

“We can’t look into the past,” he said. “But, we’ve been playing so much better of late, better than our record indicates. To come from behind and finish the game like that feels great. This team has a lot of weapons and they’ve been playing very well, so for us to win this game on the road is huge. I’m so proud of this win, it’s definitely a confidence booster.”

Like the Knicks, the Sixers put a lot of hope into their core of youngsters. Their backcourt combination of Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner are young, fast, athletic, and very difficult to guard. Today, they completely outplayed the Knicks starting guards, Raymond Felton and Landry Fields, outscoring them 33 to 15. Turner, the Sixers number one draft pick this year, scored 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 3 assists and appears to be making the adjustment to the NBA.

“It was very disappointing,” said Felton. “Tough game, early game but no excuses. They wanted it more than we did. They played with more energy. The better team won today.”

Stoudemire also recognized the loss as a tough one to drop.

“Definitely not fun to lost to Philly,” he said. “We know we are a much better team than we showed today. We have to give a better effort next game.”

Stoudemire’s follow shot gave the Knicks their last lead at 94-93 before the Sixers ran off nine in a row. Tony Battie made a jumper, Holiday nailed a 3-pointer, then Turner stole Stoudemire’s pass for a layup and a 100-94 advantage. Holiday capped the decisive burst with two free throws.

You see, this wasn’t one of those D’Antoni games where the object is to outscore the other team, defense be damned. Against the John Wall-led Wizards, the Knicks won this game on the defensive end of the floor. I’ll repeat that: The Knicks won this game with defense!

With the Garden spotlights on John Wall and Gilbert Arenas, who was making his first appearance in an NBA game in 10 months, it was the Knicks backcourt of Raymond Felton and Toney Douglas that stole the show – offensively and especially, defensively.

Douglas had 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, Felton added 13 points and 10 assists but they also forced the rookie, Walls into a career-high 9 turnovers, outplaying the more heralded duo of No. 1 draft pick Wall and Gilbert Arenas.

Afterwards, in the happy locker room, it was the feisty Felton who talked about the challenge of facing high-profile guard combos.

“We come out here to play basketball. I don’t look at nobody like, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s Gilbert Arenas, oh my goodness, that’s the first pick, John Wall,” Felton said. “I look at it as he’s another person just like I am. Puts his pants on just like I do. That don’t mean nothing to me.”

Douglas followed his career-best, 30-point outing Thursday, when the Knicks made 16 of 24 3-pointers in a 120-112 victory at Chicago, with another strong game, which included five steals and four offensive rebounds among his ten total boards.

Wall, who ended up with 13 points on just four of eleven shooting, was joined in the backcourt by Arenas, who missed the first three games with an ankle injury and played in the regular season for the first time since Jan. 5, before he was suspended the final 50 games for carrying guns into the Verizon Center locker room.

Arenas scored 18 points, 14 in the final quarter to help Washington briefly make it close.

“First couple of them I rushed it, just being nervous out there. In the fourth quarter I felt comfortable,” Arenas said. “It’s really been a long time, they kept yelling at me to be aggressive and I was like, ‘I forgot how to.’”

The Knicks let the Wizards get within six points with seven minutes to go in the game before a couple of threes from Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler put the game out of reach for the Knicks.

“We’re creating our own identity, making sure of our own destiny,” Douglas said. “We know what it takes to win and everyone’s on the same page.”

After their home-opener this season, a debacle in which the Knicks blew a nine-point advantage with under five minutes to play when they allowed the Portland Trailblazers to go on a 14-2 run, D’Antoni’s charges seemed to take that loss very personally.

Since then, in this very early part of the season, they’ve won their last two against teams led by spectacular point guards, capable of exploding in bunches of points with the Derrick Rose Chicago Bulls and tonight, the Wizards and Mr. Wall.

It may be too soon to tell but the Knicks may very well be turning a corner with their ability in these last two games to hold onto a lead down the stretch and, to stop other teams from scoring.

As you go around the Knicks locker room after the game, the mantra is a very un-D’Antoni like word. Defense. But, there you have it.

“We’re playing well and doing a great job defensively,” said Amar’e Stoudemire, not known for being a defensive stopper in his years with the Suns and now, playing for D’Antoni’s Knicks. “The most important factor for us right now is to really key in defensively.”

These Knicks really seem to be developing an identity on the defensive end of the floor that they’re taking pride in.

“We take it upon ourselves to take on the challenge of guarding players, playing team defense, helping one another,” said Stoudemire. “It is really paying off for us.”

Another element of this team’s evolving chemistry is in it’s new backcourt combination of Smurf-like guards, the 6’0” Felton and the 5’11” Douglas. Playing together, they’ve been wreaking havoc with opposing guards because of their excellent on-the-ball defensive prowess, tough as nails approach, and excellent quickness. Douglas, in particular has the look of a reliable player on both sides of the floor while Felton, a six-year NBA veteran, continues to be a steady, if not spectacular point guard, something he has been since entering the NBA out of North Carolina.

Douglas’ reputation coming out of college was as a tenacious defender and he’s done nothing since being drafted by the Knicks to alter that impression. It’s on the offensive end where he’s taken his play to another level no one expected.

“I knew he was a scrappy, great defender,” Stoudemire said. “He has really impressed me with the way he is shooting the ball out there.”

D’Antoni has been impressed with Douglas from day one of training camp.

“He is playing both ends of the floor,” he said. “When he wasn’t playing last year, he was in every morning working with the coaches, getting better, shooting, getting better at pick-and-rolls. He stayed here all summer. He has made himself into a heck of a basketball player.”

Heady praise from the head coach of a Knicks team that is one game over .500 at 3-2, itself a heady record for what has been a moribund franchise for more than a decade and a franchise now in its 37th year since its last NBA championship.