AUBURN HILLS — Amar’e Stoudemire was feeling his oats all day, perhaps knowing he would again be needed to be “The Man’’ with Carmelo Anthony out last night.
Though coach Mike Woodson still didn’t start him, Stoudemire did not disappoint. Stoudemire dominated again with his second straight 22-point game as the Knicks survived Anthony’s absence in an 87-77 victory over the Pistons.
“I don’t have to remind guys, man,’’ Stoudemire said before the game when asked if he still is a dominant player. “My dossier speaks for itself. I’ve been in this league for a long time.’’
Add this one to Stoudemire’s dossier, though he needed help in the second half to repel the pesky Pistons. Raymond Felton saved the Knicks with a sensational final two quarters as they rallied from 10 points down to beat Detroit for the fourth time this season.
The Knicks (37-21) play host to Western Conference powerhouse Oklahoma City (44-16) tonight and perhaps will have do so without Anthony again, putting more pressure on Stoudemire.
They have now beaten the Pistons in three different cities this season — New York, London and Greater Detroit. But that won’t do them any good tonight versus Kevin Durant and Co.
“We’ll always accept the challenge — that’s the nature of sports,’’ said Stoudemire, who also grabbed nine rebounds. “It’s going to be a major challenge. even if Carmelo [does] play.’’
Felton, in his best game since returning from a pinkie fracture, finished with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-5 from the 3-point line. J.R. Smith, after a brutal start, had a big second half and finished with 20 points.
The Knicks punched out the Pistons with a 16-0 run that began late in the third, and the defense stepped up and held Detroit to 12 points in the final period.
“I was just being aggressive taking what the defense gives me, just playing my game,’’ Stoudemire said. “In the second half, the rest of the guys picked it up. J.R., Raymond. Great teamwork.’’
The Knicks went 2-0 on this Rust Belt trip, with Anthony barely playing. It has been quite a roll since Anthony stumbled Monday night in Cleveland and suffered a knee injury with the Knicks down 22 points. Anthony bolted, Stoudemire entered the game and the Knicks staged a stunning comeback. The Knicks are 4-4 in games Anthony has missed.
“No matter how you slice it, Melo is a big piece to our ballclub,’’ Woodson said. “We’ve had games this year he’s missed. It’s a sign of a true team. A team that steps up and makes plays regardless of who’s in uniform. It’s a total team effort.’’
Anthony was already on the team bus when reporters were allowed in the locker room last night.
The Knicks pulled away in the final minutes to allow Stoudemire to go to the bench and not surpass his 30-minute cap. In Cleveland, he surpassed the cap by two minutes.
Stoudemire was a low-post beast in the first half, rattling the rim often with dunks and finishing with 17 points in 11 minutes, getting loose on pick-and-rolls. He made 6-of-7 buckets early and finished the game 8-of-12 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Kurt Thomas started the game, but Stoudemire entered within three minutes.
“I’m very comfortable and confident in my offensive game right now,’’ Stoudemire said. “I put it in so much work in offseason and practice. It’s becoming pretty easy for me.’’
The Knicks built a 15-point lead in the second quarter, but led just 44-38 at halftime as Woodson sat Stoudemire for the final eight minutes.
The Pistons were a house on fire to start the third quarter and the Knicks couldn’t have come out flatter. The Pistons used a 18-4 run to take a 56-48 lead. A Brandon Knight trey got the Pistons up by 65-55 before the Knicks rallied from the 3-point line.
The Knicks went on a 10-0 run to close the third with Felton getting hot and scoring seven of the points to force a 65-65 tie after three quarters. They then scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to make it a 16-0 run as the Pistons were scoreless for a 6:30 stretch.
Stoudemire drove the baseline for a layup to give the Knicks a 68-65 lead with 10:20 left. Smith, after getting screamed at by Woodson for being in the wrong place during the set, got position and drilled a 3-pointer to put the Knicks up 71-65. The Pistons didn’t score in the fourth until 8:10 remained.
“We got to go regardless of who is in the lineup,” Tyson Chandler said, referring to tonight’s battle. “Somebody goes down, someone else has to step up.”