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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Bryant’s pull-up jumper from the foul line with 7:55 remaining in the second quarter gave Bryant 31,421 points for his career, edging past Chamberlain’s 31,419 total.

Now, Bryant trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928) and Michael Jordan (32,292).

Bryant had passed former teammate Shaquille O’Neal last season to occupy the No. 5 spot.

“I just want No. 6, man,” Bryant said, referring to his championship count, when asked where he wanted to finish on the all-time scoring list when he retires. “I’m not asking for too much, man. Just give me a sixth ring, damn it.”

While the Lakers are struggling just to make the playoffs this season, moving up the scoring list seems more feasible than another title at this point. Bryant is 34 and in his 17th season, but even as he’s aged, his scoring has hardly taken a dip (27.2 points per game average in 2012-13 after 27.9 a year ago).

“It depends on him and his body and mentally if he wants to keep going through this,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said after shootaround Saturday. “I would expect he would. He still hasn’t lost a whole lot and he’s 34 years old. Guys are now playing to 38-40. That’s on him. But his body and what he’s doing, he’s great.”

Bryant and Chamberlain already have been linked through their penchant for points in the past, as Bryant broke Chamberlain’s Philadelphia area high school scoring record by finishing with 2,883 points to Chamberlain’s 2,252. Bryant’s 81-point game on Jan. 22, 2006, also happens to be the second highest single-scoring game in league history, trailing only Chamberlain’s 100 scored on March 2, 1962.

“It’s a lot of points. It’s a lot of points,” Bryant said earlier this season. “I think it was just one of those nights for both of us where there was really no explanation for it. You just kind of get into one of those zones and one of those moments and things happen. … I was doing mine on jump shots, though. I didn’t have to bang with too many guys down low. I was just catching and shooting.”

While it took more than 40 years for another player to score 80 points or more after Chamberlain scored 100, Bryant said his and Chamberlain’s scoring totals are achievable.

“I believe so,” Bryant said when asked if any player would ever join him and Chamberlain with a matching single-game scoring outburst. “One day, it will happen.”

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