NBA

Anthony is three-mendous in Knicks offense

PHILADELPHIA — Carmelo Anthony never considered himself a 3-point specialist in his seven seasons in Denver. But in Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s uptempo system, he is forced to become one.

And he’s not complaining but is thriving. Anthony — who scored 31 points and hit 5 of 8 3-pointers, including the game-sealing right-wing trey with 11.8 seconds left in the Knicks’ 97-92 victory over the Sixers last night — said afterward he’s working extra hard on the 3-point shot.

“In this system, the amount of 3’s we’re taking as a team, you have to take them if you’re wide open,” said Anthony, known as the league’s elite mid-range scorer. “It forces you to go out there and practice and work on that shot. It’s all about confidence, knowing that I’m going to be open and I have to take that. I’m working on that a little bit more.”

After Anthony hit his game-clincher 3-pointer, he pounded his chest and shouted out. Clearly, Anthony, who has scored 30-plus points in four of the last five games, is feeling his oats after a rocky New York start.

D’Antoni has said if Anthony gets a consistent 3-point shot, he will be deadly.

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Shelden Williams started at center but played just seven minutes as D’Antoni said he’s auditioning for playoff rotation spots.

D’Antoni played all 12 players, even giving Derrick Brown 9:31 of audition time. Williams appears to lead the battle for starting center for Game 1, but D’Antoni said he wanted to look at Ronny Turiaf, who started the second half after not playing the first half.

D’Antoni said he might reduce his rotation to seven men in the playoffs.

“Guys on the bench, I told them they more or less are auditioning for the playoffs,” D’Antoni said.

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Deron Williams is not signed with the Nets past next season but the New Jersey franchise was bold enough yesterday to unveil an 80-x-60-foot billboard in Times Square of the superstar point guard with the heading: “Deron Williams & The Nets Bound for Brooklyn.”

It was another shot across the borough by Mikhail Prokhorov, the Nets’ feisty owner.

The new Brooklyn arena, called the Barclays Center, is not scheduled to open until the 2012-2013 season, when Williams might be gone.

The Knicks are expected to have major cap space in 2012 and will have Williams as one of their prime targets. If that occurs, there likely will be a new Times Square billboard in orange-and-blue.

Last summer, Prokhorov put up a billboard of himself and minority owner Jay-Z near the Garden at 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue.