Saving their season would be more about effort than execution.

“Tonight it was just one of them days where you just got to leave it out there on the basketball court,” Carmelo Anthony said.

Now they have to do it two more times.

Anthony scored 28 points and the Knicks avoided elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals with an 85-75 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 on Thursday night.

Reserves J.R. Smith and Chris Copeland each had 13 points for the Knicks, who trail 3-2 and will need a victory Saturday in Indiana to force a seventh game back here Monday. They are trying to become the ninth NBA team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series.

“I was totally impressed because we met the challenge,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “I think as a coach you come into games like this and you want to see who’s going to step up and make plays, and I thought we did that tonight. We were the better team in terms of doing that.”

Anthony, who didn’t make a basket in the fourth quarter of either game in Indiana, made a jumper midway through the fourth quarter after Indiana closed within four points. He followed with two free throws, Raymond Felton made a layup, and the Knicks were never in jeopardy again.

Paul George had 23 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Pacers. They played without point guard George Hill because of a concussion and committed 19 turnovers.

“We’ve just got to play more solid. There’s no other way to put it,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.

George battled foul trouble and couldn’t contain Anthony quite as well as he had while the Pacers easily won the previous two games.

Anthony made his first two shots as New York raced to a 7-0 lead in a game it never trailed. He finished only 12 of 28, but got plenty of bench help.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well but we made shots at the crucial time,” Anthony said.

David West had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who were trying to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2004.

“We didn’t play well. It was a bad game for us and we were still there,” George said.

The winner will face the defending NBA champion Miami Heat in a series that will start Wednesday.

New York didn’t really shake its scoring slump, shooting only 41 percent from the field, but put together a few runs during the game to open just enough space against a Pacers team that shot 36 percent and was a dismal 19 of 33 at the free throw line.

They clearly missed Hill after learning about four hours before the game they would be without him.

Vogel said Hill was hurt after a collision with Knicks center Tyson Chandler during the first half of Indiana’s 93-82 victory on Tuesday. Hill finished the game and scored 26 points, but experienced some headaches and showed concussion symptoms since and wasn’t able to pass the league’s concussion tests in order to play Thursday night.

The Knicks went back to their regular lineup, reinserting Pablo Prigioni, after going with a bigger group in Game 4 in a futile effort to match Indiana on the boards. The smaller group did a better job, getting outrebounded only 43-40.

“We’re not going to go out without fighting,” Chandler said.

The Knicks finally opened it up midway through the third quarter with a 12-4 run, started by Smith’s bank shot and featuring a 3-pointer and follow shot from Copeland, who got more playing time while Woodson gave little to veterans Amar’e Stoudemire and the slumping Jason Kidd, who missed his only shot and remains scoreless in the series.

“Coaching is a feel. It’s not always what players want at the end of the day, it’s about winning,” Woodson said. “That’s all I’m in it for.”

Anthony made a jumper and a 3-pointer on his first two shots, and Iman Shumpert followed with another jumper for a 7-0 start. Smith got a big ovation when he checked in, which grew much louder when he made his first shot, dribbling back behind the arc for a 3-pointer that made it 17-12 with 2:56 left in the opening quarter.

Smith has endured a miserable stretch since elbowing Boston’s Jason Terry in the fourth quarter of Game 3 in the first round. Suspended for Game 4, he hasn’t relocated his shot since, hitting 28 percent in the first four games and has been criticized for not being focused after he was seen out a nightclub with singer Rihanna the night before Game 1 — a day game.

He was only 4 of 11, but hit the jumper that started the Knicks’ run in the third quarter.

“Still didn’t shoot the best but it always helps coming home and playing in front of these fans,” Smith said. “Hopefully the little bit of rhythm that I did get carries me over.”

The Knicks extended their 19-15 lead after one to 32-23 on Copeland’s 3-pointer with 7:06 remaining in the second. The Pacers chipped away for most of the half but couldn’t take the large in part because of their sloppy free throw shooting, going 8 of 16 in the half that agonizingly wouldn’t end when both Chandler and the Pacers’ Sam Young committed fouls more than 30 feet from the basket in the final 2.4 seconds.

Game notes
Kidd is 0 for 8 in the series, part of a 0-for-17 skid that began with Game 3 against Boston in the first round. The 40-year-old point guard, surely headed for the Hall of Fame, is 3 of 25 in the postseason and hasn’t scored since hitting a 3-pointer against the Celtics in Game 2 on April 23. He played 5 minutes and Stoudemire played 6½. … The Phoenix Suns are the last team to win a series after trailing 3-1, beating the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006. The Brooklyn Nets forced Chicago to a seventh game in the first round but dropped Game 7 on their home floor. … West was 5 of 13 in the first half. The other four Indiana starters were 5 for 23.

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Anthony scored 40 points and the Knicks got key contributions from J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton during a 19-5 fourth-quarter run that sparked New York to its 10th straight victory, 95-82 over Atlanta on Wednesday night.

“Melo is smart enough to know that if he’s doubled, he’ll sacrifice the ball,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “And we’ve got enough shooters around him that are making big shots. That opens it up for him even more. And when he gets going like he did tonight, they’re not going to leave him alone very often.”

Anthony, who scored 50 in his last game at Miami, scored 26 in the first half. He commanded more defensive attention in the second half, which left opportunities for Smith, who scored 19, and Felton, who scored 14. Felton’s quickness to the basket resulted in three straight scores during a 12-2 streak that turned a tie game into an 84-74 Knicks lead that was never threatened.

“A lot of (Anthony’s) points came off the bounce, with just two or three dribbles, and then a quick pull-up,” Woodson said. “When he got doubled, he got the ball out. It was kind of nice to play off him tonight.”

Atlanta forward Al Horford admitted, “He hit a lot of tough shots. I think he was very comfortable out there. We probably should have tried to pressure him more.”

Anthony made 17 of 27 from the field and was 5 for 6 at the line. He also had five rebounds and three assists, with only one turnover.

“The rhythm was there and I wanted to see if I still had it going,” Anthony said. “It was just one of those nights once again. I feel like when I have the opportunity, I just want to take my time and take it when I’m open and then find the open man when I’m doubled.”

The game was tied at 72 with 9:48 left when New York took control. The Knicks outscored the Hawks 23-10 the rest of the way, as Felton scored 10 in the final period.

“I think our coverages were bad,” Hawks guard Jeff Teague said. “I should have backed up a little bit on Raymond Felton and let him shoot a contested shot. But I got up a little bit and he used his speed to get by me.”

The win puts New York in sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference.

“This team is playing for something,” Woodson said. “We know every game counts. We’ve had our ups and downs because of injuries, but we’ve just got to finish this regular season out.”

Atlanta lost the opportunity to move into a tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and wasted a 25-point effort by Kyle Korver, who came up two points short of his season high.

“They were switching a lot of things trying to take away Josh (Smith) and Al and I was able to get some looks in the first half,” Korver said. “I tried to knock them down.”

Korver moved into third place on the all-time list for consecutive games with a 3-point basket. Korver passed Reggie Miller at 10:54 in the first quarter when he made a 3-pointer from the right side. He’s now connected for a trey in 69 straight games. Korver is still a long away from catching Dana Barros (89 consecutive games), but is within distance of Dennis Scott (78) and Michael Adams (79).

“We played a very hot basketball team,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “Particularly Carmelo, who’s playing at a very high level right now, shooting the ball extremely, extremely well. I thought there were times we defended him well. He still made shots.”

Game notes

Atlanta forward John Jenkins missed his third game since suffering a concussion against Boston. … Atlanta’s Devin Harris was not available because of foot injury. He had rehab treatment on Wednesday. … The Syracuse men’s basketball team attended the game. The team is in town to compete in the NCAA Final Four. … Also at courtside was comedian Conan O’Brien.

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Left short-handed by a rash of frontcourt injuries, the Knicks are suddenly counting on Martin more than they ever imagined. Best of all, he’s coming up big.

Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points, Martin had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Knicks clinched a playoff berth with a 99-94 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

“He means a lot to this team right now,” Anthony said of Martin, his one-time Denver teammate. “We need him coming down the stretch.”

Making his fifth straight start, Martin connected on his first nine field goal attempts, not missing until 1:40 remained in the fourth quarter.

“He stepped up big time,” New York coach Mike Woodson said. “He scored for us, he rebounded, had a few blocks. He did a little bit of everything.”

Veteran guard Jason Kidd, who once played with Martin in New Jersey, said the 35-year-old has been an invaluable addition following injuries to big men Amar’e Stoudemire (right knee), Tyson Chandler (neck), Kurt Thomas (right foot) and Rasheed Wallace (left foot).

“He’s a true professional,” Kidd said. “If we didn’t have him we would be in trouble right now. He’s playing big on both ends.”

Out of basketball before the Knicks came calling, Martin said he considers himself “blessed” to be back on the court and playing for a contender.

“I just tried to stay ready,” he said. “An opportunity came for me to come out and play. It’s unfortunate that it’s because of injury, but I’ll take it.”

J.R. Smith scored 14 points as the Knicks earned their 41st win. That guaranteed they’ll reach the playoffs for the third straight season, something they hadn’t done since a 14-year streak of postseason appearances from 1988 to 2001.

With 15 games left and playoff seeding still undecided, Woodson doesn’t want his team easing up.

“We can’t have any slippage, no matter who we play, because Brooklyn is not going anywhere and Boston is not going anywhere,” Woodson said.

The league’s second-leading scorer, Anthony has 57 total points in his past two games after missing six of the previous eight with a sore right knee. His 43 minutes were about 10 more than Woodson had hoped he’d play, but Anthony wasn’t complaining.

“I’ll take on that challenge, I love that challenge, I want that challenge,” he said. “I wanted to see what I could do, especially being out and not playing the way I know how to play.”

The defeat was a double blow for Toronto, which lost for the 11th time in 15 games and saw forward Rudy Gay leave in the second with a sore back. Gay did not return, and his status for Saturday night’s rematch in New York was not known.

Alan Anderson scored a career-high 35 points, DeMar DeRozan had 18 and Jonas Valanciunas 10 as the Raptors lost their third straight. Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 10 assists.

Down by 14 points midway through the third, the Raptors rallied to make a game of it in the fourth. A three-point play by DeRozan cut it to 84-82 with 6:17 left, but Anthony answered with a three-point play of his own, keying a 10-2 run that put the Knicks up 94-84 with 4:00 remaining.

A putback dunk by Terrence Ross cut it to 97-92 with 39 seconds left and, after Smith missed a pair of free throws, Anderson made two from the line, making it 97-94.

Anthony was fouled and made the first but missed the second, giving the Knicks a four-point edge. Jason Kidd grabbed the rebound when Ross’s 3-point heave came up short, and capped it by making one of two from the line.

Chandler (neck) did not travel with the team, remaining in New York for treatment. Woodson said he doesn’t know when Chandler, who last played March 13, will be cleared to return. The Knicks had earlier said they expected Chandler to miss about a week.

Raymond Felton’s banked 3 gave the Knicks a 25-15 lead with two minutes left in the first but Anderson scored five straight points as the Raptors cut it to 25-22 after one.

Gay headed to the locker room with a sore back at 7:04 of the second and the Knicks pulled away. Anthony and Kidd each scored six as New York outscored Toronto 25-15 to open a 50-37 lead at the half. The Raptors made five of 20 field goal attempts in the quarter.

“We just had a lot of open misses,” Anderson said. “We weren’t swinging the ball from side to side like we did in the previous two games against them.”

Anderson matched a Raptors record with 20 points in the third and Toronto made five of nine from 3-point range, but a turnaround, buzzer-beating 3 by Anthony gave the Knicks a 77-71 lead heading into the fourth.

Game notes

Stoudemire, Thomas and Wallace also skipped the trip to Toronto. … Iman Shumpert started for the New York after sitting out the second half of Wednesday’s win over Orlando with a sore left knee. … Mike James was the last Toronto player to score 20 in a quarter, doing it in the fourth against Detroit on Apr. 14, 2006. … Woodson expressed his sadness at the death of former Knicks captain Ray Williams, who died Friday at the age of 58. “It’s a major loss,” Woodson said. “He’s a part of our Knicks family.” … Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. attended the game.

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That’s how long it took Carmelo Anthony to show he was back, pulling up comfortably for a 3-pointer on New York’s first possession.

“Big-time relief,” the Knicks coach said. “I mean, lets me know that Melo’s being Melo.”

And the Knicks looked like the Knicks from earlier in the season, before Anthony’s struggles halted their momentum.

Anthony scored 21 points after missing the previous three games with a knee injury, and the Knicks beat the Orlando Magic 106-94 on Wednesday night.

J.R. Smith had 22 points for New York, still short-handed in the frontcourt but looking much better with Anthony back. The NBA’s second-leading scorer hadn’t played since leaving the Knicks’ road trip last week to have fluid drained from the back of his right knee. He said it felt better right after going to the hospital after he had been feeling discomfort for weeks.

“I feel good, I feel healthy,” Anthony said. “I’m glad I went and got that procedure done so I put that behind me now.”

He moved well and shot 7 of 14 while grabbing eight rebounds as the Knicks closed in on a playoff spot they could wrap up this week.

“Any time you have a great scorer like that, it’s going to be tough for you. Not one person in the league, in the world can guard him 1-on-1,” Magic guard Jameer Nelson said. “So you’ve got to do different things and try to get him out of his rhythm. I thought he did a great job by being patient and taking shots when he wanted to or needed to, and passing it when the double-team came.”

The Knicks shot 53 percent and won their second straight after dropping the first four games of their five-game trip. All-Star center Tyson Chandler is expected to miss about a week with a bulging disk, and reserve forwards Amare Stoudemire, Rasheed Wallace and Kurt Thomas all could miss the rest of the regular season. But New York had no trouble despite using a small lineup that featured 6-foot-9 Kenyon Martin as the center.

Iman Shumpert, who joined Anthony, Martin, Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni in the lineup, sat out after hurting his knee late in the first half. He said he was scared after hearing a pop, having torn up his knee last spring, but trainers told him it was likely scar tissue. He sat on the bench in uniform and Woodson said he could have returned, but kept him out as the Knicks blew it open.

Tobias Harris and Andrew Nicholson each scored 14 points for the Magic in their fifth straight loss. They played without center Nikola Vucevic because of an illness in the second night of a difficult back-to-back, after falling by 22 at Indiana on Tuesday.

New York beat Orlando for the sixth straight time and swept the season series for the first time since 1997-98.

Anthony said he was feeling pain just before the All-Star break, more than a month ago. The knee became worse when the Knicks had games on back-to-back nights against Miami and Cleveland on March 3-4, and he fell to the court without contact while trying to catch a pass in the second game.

He missed the next three games, then came back. But he was clearly limited in losses at Golden State and Denver, totaling just 23 points, and he finally realized the knee needed more than just rest.

“I was worried because I didn’t really know what was the cause of it, what was going on,” he said. “I knew for sure that it wasn’t no ligament damage or anything like that, so I just wish that I could have gotten to the bottom of it quicker or we could’ve got to the bottom of it quicker.”

He had rejoined the team on the West Coast following the procedure but didn’t want to rush back, and determined he was ready Wednesday after feeling good over the last couple of days.

New York built a 22-7 lead after consecutive 3-pointers by Smith and Chris Copeland capped a 10-0 run. They led 26-15 after one, but Orlando got untracked with a 31-point second quarter, cutting it to 51-46 at the half.

The Knicks put it away midway through the third, getting two free throws and a follow shot by Anthony to start a 10-2 burst that extended a 10-point lead to 78-60.

“I think they’re the hardest team to defend in the NBA. With Melo and his ability to score and play the 4 and then with four shooters all around him, it’s hard to help out and get back. You saw tonight they made a lot of 3s,” Harris said. “They’re definitely a tough match-up team and that’s what makes them so good.”

Game notes

Woodson said he didn’t expect the Knicks to make any moves to fortify the frontcourt because Wallace and Thomas could be back around the start of the playoffs. And he said he still “absolutely” believes in the Knicks’ decision to load up on older players over the summer, believing the injuries happened because the veterans played more minutes than expected because of injuries to other players. … Thomas said he’d had a stress fracture in his foot in 2006 while playing for Phoenix and had learned recently it didn’t completely heal. … The Knicks wished director and leading fan Spike Lee a happy birthday between the first and second quarters. … Magic coach Jacque Vaughn was ejected from Tuesday’s game and said he didn’t want to discuss his feelings about Indiana’s physical play for fear of losing more money, smiling that his wife was mad about the fines that come with the two technical fouls he received during the loss to the Pacers.

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Anthony first aggravated the knee in the first half of Monday’s win against the Cleveland Cavaliers and hasn’t been on the floor since.

Woodson said Anthony’s status remains day to day.

The coach said Anthony reported earlier Saturday that his knee is “so-so” after receiving treatment during the team’s morning shootaround.

Anthony’s isn’t the only health issue the Knicks have. The team announced on Saturday that forward Amar’e Stoudemire is scheduled to have a right knee debridement next week and will miss approximately six weeks.

As for Anthony, an MRI taken recently revealed no structural damage, he said. But there has been a fluid buildup in the back of it.

Woodson intimated that the team has no plans to drain the fluid in Anthony’s knee at this point. The Knicks will continue with treatment and will give him time to rest. The team hasn’t taken any further tests on the knee.

“I know he’s getting his treatment and you don’t always have to drain, you can treat and the swelling can go away that way as well,” Woodson said. “We’ve just got to give it time and see what happens.”

When Anthony does return, Woodson hopes to reduce his minutes.

Anthony has played an average of 37.8 minutes per game. He averaged 41 minutes per game in January and 38.8 in February. Woodson would like to play him closer to 35 minutes, his per-game average in November.

After Saturday night, the Knicks will embark on a season-long five-game, seven-day road trip against Western Conference teams.

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“He’s a big piece to the puzzle,” coach Mike Woodson said. “It’s a major loss to what we’re trying to do but we’re going to have to wait on him and continue our climb.”

The team announced on Saturday evening that Stoudemire is expected to undergo a knee debridement sometime in the coming week. A debridement is a form of arthroscopic surgery that removes debris. And it’s just the latest in a long list of knee ailments for the 30-year-old veteran.

Stoudemire first felt soreness in both knees earlier Saturday and sat out of the morning shootaround. An MRI later Saturday revealed surgery was required. Per the six-week timetable, Stoudemire could miss the remainder of the regular season. If he is off the floor for the full six weeks, the earliest Stoudemire would return is April 20, three days after the final game of the regular season.

“We’ve just got to patiently wait and hope that everything goes well,” Woodson said.

Stoudemire missed the first two months of the season while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The procedure also was described as a debridement. The timetable for Stoudemire to return from the surgery earlier this season was six to eight weeks, and he needed the full eight to get back.

Stoudemire also underwent microfracture surgery in October 2005, but bounced back well from the procedure.

Still, the procedure can be a red flag for teams. Stoudemire’s contract with the Knicks — a five-year, $100 million pact — is uninsured because of his history of knee issues. Stoudemire is under contract through 2014-15. He is scheduled to make $19.9 million this season and a combined $45 million over the final two years of his deal.

Asked if he was concerned that Stoudemire would struggle to bounce back from this most recent ailment, Woodson expressed optimism.

“I hope not; Amar’e works hard,” the coach said. “I give him a lot of credit for that. He wants to play and be on the basketball floor so I can’t help but think that he’s going to put the time in … to get back out on the floor to help us.”

Stoudemire had been playing on a 30-minute restriction to preserve the health of his knees this season, per instructions from the Knicks’ medical staff. In 29 games this season, the 10-year veteran averaged 14.2 points and five rebounds in 23.5 minutes, shooting 57 percent from the field. In recent weeks, he’d established himself as a strong low-post threat off the bench for the Knicks (38-22).

“When you start playing playoff basketball you need some post up play … [and] that’s where Amar’e was so valuable for us,” Woodson said.

Stoudemire’s injury isn’t the only health concern for the Knicks. Carmelo Anthony missed his third straight game on Saturday with a lingering right knee injury.

“We have to just go out there and find ways to win,” small forward Steve Novak said before the Knicks’ 113-84 rout of the Utah Jazz. “Obviously, those are our main two throw-it-to-and-then-create-their-own-shot scorers for us, so I think our approach just has to be a little bit different.”

An extended stretch without Stoudemire means more playing time for the recently acquired Kenyon Martin, who showed some remorse for Stoudemire.

“It’s part of sports, we all know that, so we’ve got to come together as a team,” Martin said. “That’s why I’m here, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get some more playing time. It’s a very, very unfortunate situation.”

Ian Begley is a frequent contributor to ESPNNewYork.com. ESPNNewYork.com contributor Jared Zwerling contributed to this report.

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Curry had hardly missed in a scintillating second half of the NBA’s most electric performance this season, the crowd cheering even before the ball left his hands.

This time, Raymond Felton jumped with him, making the play New York needed to finally withstand Curry.

Felton’s blocked shot led to J.R. Smith’s tiebreaking basket with 1:10 left, and the Knicks overcame Curry’s NBA season-high 54 points to beat the Golden State Warriors 109-105 on Wednesday night.

Curry was 18 of 28 from the field, finishing one 3-pointer shy of the NBA record with 11 in 13 attempts, in a performance that had the crowd hanging on his every shot. But the Knicks and Felton finally stopped him with 1:28 to play and the score tied at 105.

“My main thing is to keep playing. Like I said, once a guy gets it going like that, there’s nothing I can really do. I’ve still got to stay in my mindset, still play my game, and I was still able to come up with some big plays at the end,” Felton said. “We all came up with some big plays to get that win.”

Carmelo Anthony followed Smith’s basket with another one and the Knicks hung on to spoil former Knicks star and Warriors coach Mark Jackson’s homecoming.

Anthony finished with 35 points and Smith had 26.

“We made the defensive stops we needed to make down the stretch,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.

Playing all 48 minutes, Curry finished with seven assists and six rebounds while passing his previous career best of 42 points, and Kevin Durant’s 52-point performance that had been the best in the NBA this season.

“I felt good all night. Obviously played the whole game, so was just trying to keep my legs underneath me on the offensive end, and you know, just stick to the game on the defensive end,” Curry said. “Once I started seeing that 3-ball go down in transition, all sorts of spots on the floor, I knew it was going to be a good night.”

But he had little help without All-Star forward David Lee, who was suspended one game for his role in an altercation Tuesday night in Indiana.

Tyson Chandler had 16 points and a career-best 28 rebounds for the Knicks, who won their second straight after a season-high, four-game losing streak. Amare Stoudemire had 14 points and Anthony added eight assists on the day the Knicks learned they could be without reserve forward Rasheed Wallace for the rest of the season because he needs surgery to repair a broken bone in his left foot.

Strutting all over the court whenever one of his 3s swished easily through the nets, Curry easily blew past the 38 points he scored Tuesday in Indiana, which had been his best of the season. That was spoiled when he was fined $35,000 for his role in the skirmish, which was essentially getting thrown to the ground by Roy Hibbert when he tried to intervene.

This performance — the most points by an NBA player in a loss since Kobe Bryant had 58 in a loss to Charlotte on Dec. 29, 2006 — was spoiled along with Jackson’s trip back to his old home because of a few mistakes down the stretch.

Curry threw away a pass on the break with 3:13 left, and Jarrett Jack was called for a travel following Smith’s go-ahead basket.

Plus, Klay Thompson finished 3 of 13 from the field, missing two straight from deep in the final minute.

Jackson, who grew up in Brooklyn and starred at St. John’s before being drafted by the Knicks in 1987, didn’t get a chance to coach here last season as an NBA rookie on the bench because of the lockout. He brought his wife, Desiree, to a road game for the first time this season, had his mother in the stands, and got a chance to see people he remembered from playing here years earlier.

He said he hadn’t gotten to look ahead much to the game because of the schedule, but clearly enjoyed being back in Madison Square Garden once the day did arrive.

“This is a special place and it was part of my dreams as a kid,” he said.

His night turned into Curry’s, fans cheering even before the ball left his hand in the second half.

“We were short-handed and we needed a performance like that to have a chance,” Jackson said. “He put on a clinic. Knocked down shots. Made plays. Carried us. Led us in rebounding. He did it all. I’ve seen a lot of great performances in this building and his goes up there. I’ve seen a lot. I’ve seen a lot, but that shooting performance was a thing of beauty.”

The Knicks, who hadn’t played since Sunday, looked ready to blow the Warriors out early, taking a 25-11 lead that the Warriors trimmed to 27-18 at the end of the first period before surging ahead behind Curry.

He scored 12 straight Golden State points, cutting it to 35-34 with his third 3-pointer of the second quarter. He followed Richard Jefferson’s 3 with another one, giving the Warriors a 40-37 advantage. The Knicks recovered and went back ahead by nine late in the period before Curry answered with six consecutive points, and New York’s lead was 58-55 at the break.

“He’s a special young player with a very unique talent,” Chandler said. “We ran everything at him. He just got hot. There was some shots that he couldn’t have seen the rim.”

Curry’s drive gave the Warriors a two-point lead three minutes into the third quarter, but he didn’t score again until hitting a turnaround 3 from 27 feet with 5 seconds left in the period, giving him 38 points again and cutting New York’s lead to 84-81.

Already without Andrew Bogut because of a back injury, the Warriors had little size without Lee. Their lineup at one point in the second quarter had nobody taller than 6-foot-9 and Chandler simply climbed over them all night.

He came in leading the league with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game, and grabbed 13 boards in the first quarter alone.

Game notes
Chandler was also the last NBA player to grab 13 rebounds in one quarter, hauling in 14 in the third quarter for Dallas on Dec. 1, 2010. … Wallace, who hasn’t played since December, will have surgery this week and the expected recovery time is eight weeks. Woodson said he didn’t plan to waive the 38-year-old forward and create a roster spot, instead hoping he could be able to play in the postseason. … Kenyon Martin, signed last week in part because of the uncertainty around Wallace, made his Knicks debut and was scoreless in 5 first-half minutes.

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The Knicks were in Minnesota to play the Timberwolves on Friday night. They initially planned to fly home after the game, but coach Mike Woodson said that flight was postponed. The team opted to stay in Minnesota overnight and to fly to New York on Saturday.

The Knicks are scheduled to play the Los Angeles Clippers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Woodson said on Friday the team planned to get up on Saturday morning and go over scouting for the Clippers at the hotel before trying to leave for New York.

The Clippers stayed in Miami overnight after their game Friday night against the Heat. They are expected to fly into New York on Saturday afternoon.

Forecasters are estimating 1-to-3 feet of snow will hit the Northeast this weekend.

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Nicolas Batum scored 26 points, Damian Lillard had 21 points, six assists and five rebounds, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Portland.

Stoudemire finished with six points on 3-of-8 shooting and one rebound in 17 minutes off the bench in his return from knee surgery. Anthony shot 14 of 24 and nearly led the Knicks back from 19 points down after missing two games with a knee injury, but the Trail Blazers had too many options.

J.J. Hickson scored all of his 18 points in the first half as Portland won for the third time in four games.

Anthony had missed the previous two games with a hyperextended left knee. The Knicks are still without point guard Raymond Felton because of a broken pinky finger and struggled to get their offense going until too late, losing for the third time in four games.

J.R. Smith had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks.

Stoudemire had surgery on Oct. 31 to clean up tissue in his left knee and decided to play after going through a couple of practices this week, though adding he wasn’t yet 100 percent. The former All-Star who has battled injuries in recent years was clearly rusty but showed he can still finish at the rim when set up properly.

Coach Mike Woodson wouldn’t say how long Stoudemire would remain a reserve. Stoudemire and Anthony have struggled to play together and the Knicks have a losing record when both play, but Woodson has said the Knicks need both of them on the floor to have a shot at a championship.

Stoudemire was already done for the night when the Knicks made a late run, cutting an 11-point deficit with 3:16 remaining to 100-97 on Anthony’s 3-pointer with 57 seconds left. Lillard answered with a 3-pointer, but the Knicks got it right back down to three again when Anthony converted a three-point play with 29 seconds to go.

The Knicks forced a jump ball and Smith won it, but Anthony missed a 3-pointer. Wesley Matthews, back after missing four straight games with an injured left hip, made two free throws with 13 seconds left to close the scoring.

Stoudemire got a standing ovation when he headed to the scorer’s table before checking in with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter. The Knicks went right to him in the post, but he stepped on the baseline while making his move.

The cheers turned to boos, not heard often this season during the Knicks’ 12-2 start at home, just a few minutes later.

Portland used an 11-0 run in the second quarter to extend a seven-point lead to 43-25 on Mathews’ basket with 7:20 remaining. The lead was 19 when Stoudemire returned with 5:36 left and the Knicks scored seven straight points, but the Blazers regrouped and got it back to 18 after consecutive baskets by Hickson before Stoudemire sat down again.

It was 58-47 at halftime after Anthony banked in a 3-pointer on a broken play with 0.1 seconds left.

The Knicks looked better offensively when Stoudemire returned with 5:06 left in the third quarter and Portland leading by six. He got his first basket when Anthony found him inside with 3:11 left, and he showed his old explosive finishing ability with a dunk later in the period, but the Knicks couldn’t close much of the gap because of their poor defense on Batum. The Frenchman scored 13 points and made three 3-pointers in the quarter, giving the Blazers a 78-71 advantage.

Game notes

The Knicks fell to 16-7 overall and 13-3 at home on New Year’s Day. The record by an opponent for points against the Knicks on Jan. 1 is held by Woodson, who scored 36 for the Clippers in 1988. … This was the Blazers’ first trip to New York since last March 14, when the Knicks won 121-79 hours after Mike D’Antoni resigned and Woodson became the interim coach. Blazers coach Nate McMillan was fired the next day.

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