LONDON — It took a trip to London for Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire to bond and finally look sharp together on the court.
Afterward, they were together on the podium in the bowels of the O2 Arena, sharing in the spoils of Thursday’s 102-87 rout of the Pistons at a jam-packed arena.
Anthony and Stoudemire combined for 43 points and Iman Shumpert’s hotly anticipated season debut was a success as the Knicks made their trip across the pond a positive work vacation.
Anthony scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half as he snapped a three-game shooting slump. He was 8-of-19 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Stoudemire — still coming off the bench — had his best game of his comeback, pouring in a season-high 17 points in just 19 minutes and taking five field-goal attempts to get all those points. He shot 11-of-12 from the free-throw line and made 3-of-5 baskets.
“The timing is definitely coming back,’’ Stoudemire said. “I feel just as good as I did before I was out with a knee injury — my timing, legs. I feel healthy.’’
A British journalist brought a smile to the Knicks’ two stars when he asked a question that has grown stale in the USA: “Whose team is it, yours or Amare’s?’’
“It’s Melo’s team,’’ Stoudemire said.
Anthony laughed. “No, It’s Jim Dolan’s team.’’
“It’s not about that at all,’’ Stoudemire added. “It truly isn’t. It’s about winning and doing what we can to improve and ultimately win a championship.’ ’’
Once that would have been an awkward moment. No more as Stoudemire establishes himself as a key bench component and Anthony continues his MVP-caliber season that saw him named an Eastern Conference starter in the All-Star Game Thursday alongside LeBron James and antagonist Kevin Garnett. When someone wanted to know if the sky is the limit with the Knicks, Anthony said, “You took the words right out of my mouth.’’
Another piece to a potential championship puzzle may have been added with Shumpert’s debut after ACL surgery. It went smoothly as coach Mike Woodson stuck him in the starting lineup, even if he’s not permitted to exceed 15 minutes.
Shumpert hit his season’s first shot — a corner 3-pointer. He finished with eight points in 14 minutes, making 3-of-7 shots and was on the court when the Knicks charged to a 16-2 bulge.
“Teammates feed off him,’’ Woodson said. “That was one of the first first quarters in a while we’ve been really good and he had a lot to do with that.’’
The victory capped a jolly good few days for the Knicks (25-13), whose players brought their wives and girlfriends. The club planned to stay overnight and fly back today — clearly headed in the right direction.
“It was a phenomenal experience, we got a chance to interact with the fans,’’ Stoudemire said. “Half the team was able to go to the Chelsea game [Wednesday] night. We’ve been touring. It’s been a great experience for us.’’
Commissioner David Stern, who attended the game, called the two clubs “historic franchises,’’ but Londoners came to cheer the Knicks. Many fans wore Knicks jerseys, though it technically was a Pistons’ home game.
“It felt like a home game for us,’’ Stoudemire said.
“Fans were fantastic, especially for us,’’ Woodson said. “When they played our theme song to start the game, that really got our guys into the game like we were playing at home.’’
In his first game since breaking his 15-day fast, Anthony came back to the arena where he won an Olympic gold medal and lit up London with 18 points in the first half, as if facing Nigeria again. Anthony said he was reenergized from fueling up on fish and chips, and tea. Anthony also had four assists, passing well out of the Pistons’ second-half double team.
“I felt great. I felt better than I was the last couple of games as far as energy,’’ Anthony said. “I’m back to eating what I’m supposed to eat. It felt good out there — sellout crowd, energy in the building. We had fun and we’re a fun team to watch. I definitely had some flashbacks.’’
The Knicks broke out with the pace of an English high-speed train. They made their first six shots and took a 16-2 lead after four minutes, with Anthony sinking two 3-pointers. Shumpert’s 3-pointer jacked the lead to 18-5. Shumpert’s other two highlights were a steal at midcourt for a fast-break layup and a driving dunk attempt. Though he missed, he showed no fear.
“It felt good,’’ Shumpert said. “I put in the work. If my knee fell and collapsed today, it wasn’t meant to be. I’m pretty confident what’s going on.’’
“When you go through a major injury like he went through. there’s a lot of dread and fear,’’ Woodson said. “I’m sure there were days in his mind he’d never get there.
“This is more getting off to a good start. It’s nice to see.’’