Carmelo Anthony missed practice. But he won’t miss Miami.
The Knicks announced their superstar forward — the NBA’s second-best scorer whose 28.2 ppg average contains totals of 44, 35, 44 and 42 in his past four games — did not practice Wednesday due to personal reasons but that he would accompany the team to Miami for Thursday’s game with the Heat.
And Anthony was aboard the team’s late Wednesday afternoon flight to Miami following the morning practice in Greenburgh.
The NBA said it would not take any action against J.R. Smith for tugging on Vince Carter’s headband Monday in the game against the Mavericks unless someone made a big deal out of it.
That someone won’t be Carter.
“What’s the drama? It was just funny to me,” Carter told ESPN Dallas. “He’s a good friend. It didn’t bother me.
“I hear everybody making a big deal about it, but he didn’t pull it over my eyes where I couldn’t see.”
NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn, who fined Smith $50,000 earlier this season for his shoelace antics, told The Post Tuesday, “Unless somebody makes a big deal about it, I’m not going to do anything about it. Carter was laughing. They were just fooling around.”
The Knicks will have fresh troops for Miami. Earl Clark, a 6-foot-10 forward, and Shannon Brown, a 6-foot-4 guard, are expected to formally sign 10-day contracts Thursday morning and be available for the game in Miami.
Clark, 26, was released by the Sixers and cleared waivers following his part in a trading deadline deal from Cleveland. He is a 4.5-point career scorer.
Brown finished the second of his 10-day contracts last week with the Spurs, his sixth team since entering the league in 2006.
Many were surprised by the legal troubles Raymond Felton fell into this week. Pacers consultant Donnie Walsh, the former Knicks president who sent Felton to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony trade, said he was “absolutely” stunned when he heard the news.
“It is so far away from my knowledge of who he is,” Walsh said.
Walsh, the man labeled “basketball royalty” by Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, said his only knowledge of the Felton episode came from what he heard and read.
“I was surprised, especially to hear that Raymond was possibly waving or pointing a gun,” Walsh said. “I heard he is going through a divorce and that could be so unsettling but, first, he should know better. Out of character? Yes, he is a good guy. So I am surprised at it all. On the court, Raymond is as competitive as anyone. Off the court, I always found him to be a gentleman.”
Coach Mike Woodson raised more than one eyebrow Wednesday when, while discussing Felton’s situation, he claimed the Knicks have played “pretty good basketball” lately. That’s aside from nine losses in 11 games.
“I’m not calling it a distraction. We’ve been playing pretty good basketball and unfortunately, we haven’t won games,” Woodson said. “But I like the way we’ve playing and competing.”
The Grizzlies, according to ESPN, have put in a successful claim for guard Beno Udrih, who was bought out this week by the Knicks. Memphis had made him an offer in the summer before he signed with the Knicks.