Hours after Carmelo Anthony showed his game was just fine in the Garden, he told The Post his marriage was just fine at home as well. The Knicks star vehemently — and repeatedly — denied his marriage was on the rocks, and that he was estranged from wife La La.
“Hell no,’’ Anthony told The Post yesterday at Cipriani Club 55, shortly after starting at power forward and pouring in a game-high 27 points and seven rebounds to lead the Knicks to a 100-87 win over New Orleans at the Garden. “Hell no we’re not [living separately].’’
Anthony — at the Wall Street haunt to launch his new Jordan MELO M9 sneaker — went after Kevin Garnett at Monday’s game and confronted the Celtics star in the arena tunnel, near the players’ locker rooms, and again in the parking garage. The Post reported it was a remark about La La that set him off, and Black Sports Online reported Garnett told Anthony his wife “tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios.’’
Garnett’s trash-talk — which Boston coach Doc Rivers accused Anthony of exaggerating — was underscored by reports Anthony and his wife were “estranged,’’ something Anthony took the time to deny several times to The Post.
“Just letting you know me and my wife have no problems. We’re good,’’ an amiable Anthony doubled back to tell The Post at his sneaker debut — which La La was expected to attend, but did not. When Anthony was asked where she was, he replied “She’s at a makeup showcase.’’
When asked how two such busy people found time to keep their marriage fresh, Anthony recoiled and tilted his face in shock.
“Huh?” Anthony asked rhetorically, before adding “We have our time, we have our down time. She works, I work, but we have our time. We make it work. Communication is the key.’’
Despite being at the end of a 15-day fast, Anthony was jovial and amiable, although ravenous. As far as his tiff with Garnett, he insisted that’s behind them.
“We talked. We said what we had to. We talked, handled that situation the way you’re supposed to handle it,’’ Anthony said. “It’s not the first thing between me [and a player]. It’s an unfortunate situation. We said what we had to say. I’m done with answering those questions. I’m moving on from that.”
Still, after Rivers had fanned the flames last week, Anthony said the Celtics coach has no clue what was or wasn’t said.
“I didn’t know Doc was out there on the court with us. No, I haven’t talked to him,” Anthony said. “I don’t know what (he’s) saying I was crazy about, but I haven’t talked to him.’’
Additional reporting by Rebecca Faye Rosenberg
brian.lewis@nypost.com