ATLANTA — It’s been exactly two weeks since the Knicks obtained Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. Last night, they didn’t need either of them. Billups sat out with a bruised thigh, Anthony sat most of the fourth quarter, benched with blurred vision and a migraine after getting poked in the left eye.
Without their two new gems, these unpredictable Knicks didn’t miss a beat.With a terrific defensive effort, a throwback Amar’e Stoudemire fourth quarter and gritty second-half efforts by reserve guards Anthony Carter and Roger Mason Jr., the Knicks moved to 4-3 since the trade with a 92-79 victory over the Hawks before a Philips Arena crowd comprised mostly of joyous Knicks fans.
The place filled with revelry as the road team dominated the fourth quarter with a 19-2 run when Anthony was on the bench. The triumph temporarily erased the stench of Friday’s 119-115 loss to league-worst Cleveland.
Minus Melo, Stoudemire seemed to have more room to operate and scored 10 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter. Stoudemire checked in for Anthony with 10:15 left and the Knicks up just five.
It’s a touchy issue on whether Stoudemire has more freedom to score without Anthony.
“A lot depends on how the game’s being played,” Stoudemire said. “We went and got it going and it becomes a tough decision on Coach [Mike D’Antoni] to make substitutions.”
In the first quarter, Anthony was poked in the eye by Al Horford and he said it caused an “instant migraine,” forcing him to remove his orange headband.
Anthony finished 6 of 18 with 14 points and five turnovers. His best work was moving the ball, notching seven assists before being taken out for the final 10:15 as Stoudemire and Co. took over the game.
“Everybody picked me up tonight,” said Anthony, who picked up three charges. “I got poked in the eye. It messed my vision up. I had a migraine the whole game. Just trying to figure it out and fight through it. I took the headband off. The pressure of the headband was just too tight.”
D’Antoni said he didn’t intend to bench Anthony, but the Knicks put the game away.
“I was going to give him two minutes, maybe three, then we started going and then I decided to keep him out a little longer,” D’Antoni said. Then we were up 15. Considering we have a game [tonight], anytime I can give him and Amar’e some rest, I’ll do that.”
Anthony said he’ll be ready for tonight’s game vs. Utah.
“I couldn’t really see,” Anthony said. “The eye was blurry. I was seeing double almost the whole game. When I was shooting the ball, I was just trying to get it up and get other guys going.”
The Knicks, who remain in the sixth seed by a half-game ahead of Philadelphia, held Atlanta to 37 points in the second half and 40 points less than Cleveland’s output. It was the lowest point total they’ve allowed this season. Jared Jeffries snuffed Horford, the Hawks’ All-Star center who was held to four points on 2-of-8 shooting, and Joe Johnson scored just 14.
“The great thing about it is we’re getting better on the fly,” Stoudemire said. “We can become a great team. It’s about being willing to do it every night consistently. It seems when we play tougher teams, we bring more energy. And on the contrary when we don’t play teams as good, we don’t bring the energy.”
The Knicks (32-29) could still be without Billups, who missed his third straight game with his sore thigh. They also were missing Ronny Turiaf and Billy Walker, both with knee soreness, but their modest bench stepped up big time.
It gave forgotten guard Mason major minutes — a season-high 25 — for the first time since the season’s second week. Mason scored five key points in the fourth quarter — his 3-pointer capping the 19-2 run and putting them up 83-65. Shawne Williams came off the bench to deliver 12 points. Carter, an Atlanta native, was clutch with 10 points in 15 minutes on 4-of-5 shooting.
marc.berman@nypost.com