Amar’e Stoudemire (above) is still getting his legs under him, but finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
ORLANDO, Fla. — It is still Carmelo Anthony’s fourth quarter. It’s not J.R. Smith’s. And it’s definitely not Amar’e Stoudemire’s.
With an ineffective Stoudemire sitting on the bench in the final 9:13 Saturday night, Anthony carried the Knicks home with a 16-point fourth quarter. It capped a 40-point, six-assist, six-rebound explosion in a surprising 114-106 grind-it-out victory against the reeling Magic.
The Knicks needed every bit of Anthony’s all-around brilliance to hold off a Magic team that spurted out to a 14-2 start by hitting its first six shots.
Anthony hit one jumper after another in isolation plays against his former Denver mate, Aaron Afflalo, in the final minutes to secure the win after the Knicks had trailed 89-81 after three periods. He wanted the ball and he got it. He made 7 of 11 shots in the fourth, admitting it had “special meaning’’ going up against Afflalo.
“As much as I’ve been saying the team doesn’t need me to score 30 and 40 points, there’s nights like tonight when I feel I have to get it going to win the basketball game,’’ Anthony said. “Coming into the game, that’s not my mindset.’’
Anthony, still playing with a sore left knee, heard MVP chants in the final minutes in Florida.
“It feels good to hear it, I wasn’t expecting it that loud on the road in Orlando, a special moment,’’ Anthony said. “If we keep going the way we’re going, there’s no telling what could happen.’’
The Knicks moved to 23-10, first in the Atlantic Division, and in a virtual tie with Miami (22-9) for the top seed in the East, with their first meeting against Boston on tap tomorrow at the Garden. Orlando dropped its eighth straight to fall to 12-21.
“MVP,’’ coach Mike Woodson said when asked about Anthony’s fourth period. “That’s how he’s played all season. He has a nice supporting cast and trusts the guys.’’
Anthony also made two key assists down the stretch, finding J.R. Smith for a fallaway jumper that was the go-ahead bucket to make it 99-97 with 5:17 left. Before that, Anthony was doubled and made a great feed to Tyson Chandler (14 points, 12 rebounds) for a game-tying dunk.
Anthony also started the play by passing out of the double team that led to Jason Kidd’s dagger 3 with 1:45 left that put the Knicks up 109-102. Anthony fed Smith, who hesitated and found Kidd in the corner. Woodson shook his fist in celebration as the ball rattled through. Kidd finished with 15 points, seven assists and eight rebounds in his best outing since taking over as starting point guard when Raymond Felton went down on the Christmas trip.
“It was huge,’’ Woodson said. “The ball moved. Melo got doubled up top and kicked it to J.R. and then J.R. hesitated a bit to draw the defense then he hit Kidd for the three. That’s what we’ve got to do, trust guys are going to make shots.’’
Smith, one day after saying he thinks he should be in the All-Star conversation, finished with 18 points and six rebounds despite being in foul trouble. Smith’s streak of a career-high five straight 20-point outings ended, but his contributions did not.
This wasn’t a good step forward for Stoudemire. He finished with 11 points on 3 of 7 shooting, looking tentative around the rim. He played just 16:57. His stint in the third quarter disrupted the Knicks’ rhythm as they were up two when he entered and down 8 when the quarter ended.
“I’m playing him in spurts,’’ Woodson said. “I can’t play him long minutes. He gave us some adequate minutes. He’ll get better. He’ll be fine. It’s a process. He’ll be back to his old self soon.’’
The question is, does it matter? Or has Stoudemire become just gravy to their championship cause, with Anthony’s MVP-caliber campaign, Chandler’s All-Star-level play and Smith’s career year enough star power.
“He’s one of the few players in the league that special who can take a game over at any time,’’ Chandler said of Anthony.
“He was unbelievable — did everything he’s been doing all season,’’ Kidd said. “He had great looks and when they went to double him [on the 3-pointer], he made the pass to J.R.’’
On their second trip to Disney City, the Knicks played like Mickey Mouse in the first quarter. The Knicks gave up 36 points in the quarter — an outrageously bad defensive performance. The Magic shot 62.5 percent, busted out to a 14-2 lead after three minutes and led 36-27 after one, with Jameer Nelson toasting Kidd. But in the fourth, the Knicks held Orlando to 17 points on 33 percent shooting.
“In the first quarter, they came out scorching hot,’’ Anthony said. “We buckled down in the second quarter. When it was time to really buckle down and try to win the basketball game, we did those things.’’
“It’s hard to win on the road no matter who you play,’’ Woodson said. “That we gutted it up when we had to in the fourth quarter tells me a lot.’’
The Knicks shook off their early defensive woes and outscored Orlando 32-19 in the second quarter to take a 59-55 lead at halftime.
It was an emotional game for Stoudemire, playing near his hometown of Lake Wales, Fla. In honor of his deceased brother, Hazell, Stoudemire transported 30 children by bus from Lake Wales to attend the game. He talked to them about the importance of education after the game — another Knicks win.