KOBE BRYANT (NBAE/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES — Yeah, it’s big. Just ask Carmelo Anthony, who used that word five times when asked about today’s Christmas Day showdown at Staples Center.
The Knicks will don all-orange holiday uniforms against the white-clad Lakers today at 3 p.m. in a rematch with storylines and celebrities abounding.
“It’s a big game,’’ Anthony said. “It’s a big game for us, big game for the league. Big game for basketball, period. What better game than kicking off Christmas? Big game in L.A. against the Lakers. We should be excited about it. It doesn’t get better than that.’’
The league’s top two scorers wage their battle today: Anthony, racking up 28.3 points per game, against Kobe Bryant, averaging 29.7. Melo gets a second crack at his former coach and antagonist Mike D’Antoni 12 days after scoring 30 points in 22 minutes in the initial Garden encounter before spraining his left ankle.
D’Antoni was evasive about who will cover Anthony when asked how he will stop him this time.
“Getting him hurt probably helped,” D’Antoni said. “If you watch the tape again, a lot of it was him pulling up and doing what he does. If he makes it, you live with it.’’
Bryant said there’s nothing different about Anthony this season.
“Just now people are interpreting how he’s playing,” Bryant said. “He was winning in Denver as well.”
D’Antoni said, “Both of them are great. Melo is really playing well. Kobe, too. But they’ve done this about 10 years in a row.’’
Point guard Steve Nash, who missed the Dec. 13 meeting because of a fractured fibula, will get his first crack at a Knicks team he spurned in July. Pau Gasol also missed the game at the Garden, which the Knicks won, 116-107.
In his first game back Saturday against the Warriors, Nash finished with 12 points and nine assists and hit the game-sealing bucket with 16 seconds left in overtime.
“They’re going to be ready,’’ Knicks point guard Raymond Felton said. “There ain’t no way we’re going in there and blowing them out.We’d like to for sure. We know that’s not going to happen. They have a great point guard who’s going to get them easy shots and put team in a lot of screen-and-rolls. It will make them better.’’
The vibe in SoCal is today could mark the turning point for the Lakers if they can beat the sturdy Knicks (20-7). The Lakers (13-14) have won four straight, but still are 11th in the West. The Knicks are second in the East, percentage points behind the Heat.
“We need it more and we should be looking more desperate,’’ D’Antoni said.
When D’Antoni took over the Lakers job last month, he told The Post how perfect it would be if the storied franchises met in the Finals as they did 40 years ago.
D’Antoni has a .734 career win percentage in games in which Nash has played — compared to .387 without him.
“I hope it’s a turning point,” D’Antoni said. “Because we’re not very good right now. Something better turn.”
Bryant said, “We feel better about ourselves, playing with more confidence.’’
The Knicks are coming off a modest 4-2 homestand as they begin a three-game Western trip. Coach Mike Woodson thought Amar’e Stoudemire would finally make his season debut on the trip, but that doesn’t appear likely.
Instead, the Knicks will get back center Marcus Camby, who missed the past 12 games with plantar fasciitis. It could be a new beginning for Camby, viewed as a key offseason signing. He may get some real time because of the Knicks’ rebounding woes and Rasheed Wallace’s sore left foot. Camby said he’d like to give starting center Tyson Chandler some relief.
“We need him right now,’’ Chandler said. “We’re short on bigs. I could use him.’’
The Knicks, even with home losses to the Rockets and Bulls last week, are still grinding. They rallied to win Sunday by holding the Timberwolves to 36 second-half points.
“We won another 10 games in a month,’’ said Jason Kidd, restating a preseason goal. “That’s something to build on. Another productive month coming off a productive month in November.’’
When Nash chose the Lakers in July, the Knicks turned to Plan B in Kidd, who has provided savvy and great leadership.
“They’re going to try to outscore us,’’ Kidd said. “They have a guy who knows how to run the offense. Defensively, we have to be at our best. They have plenty of games, a lot of basketball to be played. They have a guy over there [Bryant] who refuses to lose. You can see that against the Warriors. He shot 40-something times but he was going to find a way to win.”
The Knicks are out to continue their run as the league’s biggest surprise. The revitalized Lakers try to stop being the league’s biggest disappointment.
“This is my preseason right now — especially with a new coach, it can kind of wash away the first preseason,” Nash said. “Hopefully it’s onward from here.”