It won’t be considered a Christmas miracle if Carmelo Anthony plays Wednesday. But it would be a Christmas miracle if the perpetually undermanned Knicks can stage an upset over Kevin Durant’s Thunder in a Garden holiday matinee.
Anthony, who sprained his left ankle in Orlando on Monday, was listed as a “game-time decision,’’ and it appears likely he will at least give it the old Christmas try.
But the Knicks, reeling at 9-18, will be without their top two point guards again. Raymond Felton (groin) and Pablo Prigioni (broken toe) are out.
Felton, whose return was ruined when he went down late in the fourth quarter Monday, has been listed with a strained right groin and is out indefinitely. Felton will undergo further tests Wednesday to establish a timetable, but it doesn’t sound good after the Knicks point guard said after the game he heard a “pop.’’
That leaves slow-footed third-string point guard Beno Udrih and rookie Toure’ Murry to contend with the Thunder’s blazing playmakers, superstar Russell Westbrook and his young stud backup, Reggie Jackson.
Add those mismatches to the notion Anthony will be limited and you can hear the holiday jeer wafting through the Garden air. It could get as ugly as the Christmas jerseys the Knicks will wear — orange with sleeves.
“No knock against Beno, but he’s new to our system,’’ Mike Woodson told Alan Hahn on his ESPN Radio show on Tuesday. “It’s been tough in terms of trying to get chemistry with our ballclub. We have to get Raymond and Pablo back. They were such a big part of what we did last season. We have to nurse Raymond back into uniform.’’
Asked how they will slow down Westbrook, Woodson said, “It’s got to take a total team effort to do that. He’s a one-man break. And he’s very powerful. We got to make sure guys are back and building a wall and he sees bodies in transition.’’
Woodson isn’t getting a Christmas bonus, but he has not been canned.
Monday featured a sad turn of events despite the victory. It was the first time the Knicks’ theoretical top seven — Anthony, Felton, Tyson Chandler, Amar’e Stoudemire, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Andrea Bargnani — played together this season. And they built a 24-point halftime lead before Anthony went down in the third quarter and Felton in the fourth.
“[Beating the Thunder is] going to be extremely tough anyway, even with those guys [Anthony, Felton],’’ Smith said. “But we have to trust other guys to make plays and step up. Everybody had to step up. It’s a collective team thing right now. We got to keep doing that. Expect other guys are going to step up. When we figure that out, it will be great.’’
Nobody around the Knicks believes Anthony will miss the game. An upset could be a giant step in changing what Anthony calls the Knicks’ lousy “mental status.’’
“He’s a warrior,’’ Smith said. “I’m not really too worried about him. Melo wants to play every game no matter what. We got to expect that.’’
Anthony at less than 100 percent is better than no Anthony.
“I trust Melo,” Woodson said. “This is my third year with Carmelo and he’s a tough competitor, a tough kid. I trust everything about him in terms of how he’s thinking, and then the medical people will lead us in the right direction in terms of where he is. We will assess everything [Wednesday] morning.’’
Anthony underwent treatment — ice, compression and elevation — Tuesday. After the Orlando game, he said he expected to play, not wanting to miss a showcase game. But to duplicate that 66-42 first half the Knicks put up against the Magic is probably Fantasyland.
“It was nice to have everyone back,’’ Woodson said. “I thought the first half we played Knick basketball on both ends. Our offense with Raymond being back was back to its old self in terms of ball movement and being able to freelance in the open court with our pick and roll. That’s been missing. We’ve had to revert to our halfcourt sets. [Monday], it clicked again.’’