Carmelo Anthony wants to take the smart route. And the smart route is not rushing back.
So it’s possible Anthony will miss a third straight game because of a sprained left ankle tonight when the Knicks entertain the Nets — for the first time as the Brooklyn Nets — at Madison Square Garden.
“The best thing for me, the best thing for the team, the best thing for the organization is to have me healthy at this point,” Anthony said after shooting and running at Knicks practice yesterday when his ankle still felt sore and swollen.
“I played through pain. I’ve played through injury. I’ve played with injuries. Right now it’s about being smart. If it was late in the season, I probably would be singing a different tune.
“Right now it’s still early in the season. It’s a matter of seeing how I feel, being 100 percent, and not letting anything linger for the rest of the season. I’ll see what happens.”
Anthony sprained his ankle crashing to the floor last Thursday against the Lakers, injuring his knee and hip as well.
“I never took a fall like that,” he said.
The injury comes shortly after he missed a pair of games with a cut finger that needed six stitches, the result of diving in the stands for a loose ball. Anthony noted his finger now is not an issue at all — neither is the hip and knee.
“All that stuff healed,” he said. “Right now it’s just my ankle. It’s not sprained right now. It’s badly bruised. There’s still some inflammation.
“Of course I want to play. But if I’m not able to go out there and be the player I can be and help my team, then I’m not going to step foot on the court.”
Anthony did some running yesterday, which might not sound like much, but it was more than he has been able to do.
“This is my first time actually running,” he said. “A lot of things have just been standstill. Shots, lot of things in the weight room, a lot of mobility work. Today I actually ran a little bit. I’m just trying to do a little more every day.”
And coach Mike Woodson agrees he doesn’t want to risk Anthony doing any more damage.
“I’m not going to sit here and rush him,” Woodson stressed. “Again, this is a long season and one or two games is not going to make our season right now, so when he’s ready to come back, he’ll let me know and we’ll welcome him back.”
fred.kerber@nypost.com