Amar’e Stoudemire got a huge ovation from the Garden crowd but the Knicks didn’t get a huge win and the $100 million man played with a huge amount of rust.
It was a new year but not the old Stoudemire. Stoudemire’s season debut wasn’t worth the wait. He was rusty as nails and the Knicks played lifeless until another late comeback fell short. Carmelo Anthony’s season-high tying 45 points went for naught as the Blazers (16-14) survived a 105-100 thriller.
As Stoudemire sat for the final 9:52, Anthony led a raging comeback in the final minutes but he missed the biggest shot – a potential game-tying right wing 3-pointer with 15.9 seconds left.
Perhaps one day Anthony and Stoudemire will be a dynamite tandem on both ends but for now it’s just ’Melo, who scored 19 points in the fourth quarter after returning from a two-game absence with a hyperextended knee. They are 30-34 in the regular season as a Knick tandem.
In 16:41 of action, Stoudemire finished with six points on 3 of 8 shooting in his season debut with one rebound. He received a standing ovation when he checked into the game with 3:31 left in the first quarter and that was the highlight.
“I almost shed a tear when I walked on the court,’’ Stoudemire said. “It was great to see the fans were patient with me.’’
Stoudemire showed in the second half he can still score off the pick and roll, but showed he still can’t defend or rebound to make this team better – coach Mike Woodson’s largest concern. Stoudemire missed his first five shots, then made his last three.
“The game felt like it was going 100 miles per hour in the first half,’’ Stoudemire said. “The second half was better than my first half. I’m hoping my second game is better than my first game.’’
“He missed some shots early on,’’ Anthony said. “His adrenaline, everything was flowing early. Once he settled down and kind of let it come to him and got some easy shots that’s when he started feeling like himself again.’’
With Stoudemire sealed to the bench, the Knicks rallied from 11 points down in the final four minutes, cut the deficit to three points on two occasions in the last minute. The Knicks are 21-9 without Stoudemire and now 0-1 with him.
“It wasn’t bad,’’ Woodson said of Stoudemire’s debut. “From a defensive standpoint he was rusty. We have to keep working with him and take it a day at a time.’’
The Knicks were burned by rookie-of-the-year favorite, point guard Damian Lillard, who netted 21 points and buried a clutch last-minute 3-pointer. Portland shot 50.6 percent as the Knicks D looked to be experiencing a hangover – Stoudemire not helping the cause. J.R. Smith again was super with 28 points, five assists and 11 rebounds – his career-high fourth straight game with 25-plus.
“Forget about the offense,’’ Woodson said. “We scored enough points. Defensively we’re not where we were earlier in the season.’’
The night’s best news is Stoudemire’s knee came out of it without soreness.
“It felt phenomenal,’’ Stoudemire said. “There was hardly any stiffness. After a high-intensity game, it still felt strong.’’
Stoudemire’s defensive woes had Woodson lecturing him for more than 30 seconds before the Knicks coach got into the huddle for a timeout. It came after J.J. Hickson grabbed an offensive rebound over Stoudemire, laid it in and got fouled coming after two straight possessions where Stoudemire looked out of position on both ends.
“We were talking about different schemes,’’ Stoudemire said. “I haven’t been playing for nine months. I was trying to take in everything he was saying. It was great teaching on his part.’’
With the Knicks down 23-20 Amar’e entered with 3:31 left in the first quarter, hugged Tyson Chandler, who was coming out, and the Garden erupted.
“It was unbelievable,’’ said Anthony, who scored two points in the 11:22 he played with Stoudemire. “I think the fans really showed something tonight, standing up and giving Amar’e that ovation, knowing everything he’s been through. Knowing him personally, knowing his mindset, coming into training camp, knowing how focused he was, it felt good to see that.’’
On his first touch, Stoudemire got a pass in the low post, made a spin move and stepped out of bounds. Stoudemire proceeded to miss two straight low-post buckets and two straight midrange jumpers and was 0 for 5 with no rebounds at halftime in 9:31 of action. His block at the rim on LaMarcus Aldridge was his best play.
It got better in the second half. Stoudemire finally scored his first bucket with 3:11 left in the third quarter off a pick and roll with Anthony. Smith drove in the lane and fed a cutting Stoudemire for a right-handed dunk. Stoudemire next worked a pick and roll with Pablo Prigioni, resulting in an Amar’e flush.
“He was moving great,’’ Smith said. “He got that dunk I dished to him. It was fun to see him on the court after he fought adversity for so long.’’
Woodson said Stoudemire was “kind of rushing’’ on offense but added “We’ll get him back to the old Amar’e.’’
marc.berman@nypost.com