NBA

Copeland makes most of start with Knicks

Carmelo Anthony was out and rookie Chris Copeland — of Belgian League fame — was in.

In a surprise move, Knicks coach Mike Woodson elected to start Copeland with Anthony resting his sprained left ankle in last night’s 103-102 win over the Cavaliers. Copeland scored a career-high 11 points, making four of five shots in 18:35.

Anthony is resting up for the Rockets tomorrow when Jeremy Lin returns to the Garden, though Woodson said he “doesn’t know yet” if Anthony is a lock to play.

Copeland came out with a Melo mentality, surging for eight first-quarter points — tying his career high to that point — before coming out with 1:17 left in the first period. The Belgian leaguer was three of three, hitting a 3-pointer from the left corner on the Knicks’ first possession.

“I’ve always been a scorer,’’ Copeland said. “That’s what I do. I’m not comparing myself to Melo, but just go out and play my game.’’

It was the rookie’s first start of his NBA career, but Woodson limited his minutes because of a tough defensive matchup vs. burly Tristan Thompson. The forward entered training camp as a longshot to make the team and probably would not have if combo guard Chris Smith didn’t go down with a knee injury.

“I was more than surprised, shocked, all those words,’’ said Copeland, who had appeared in 12 games before last night, mostly in garbage time. “It definitely caught my off guard.’’

* Woodson canceled yesterday’s morning shootaround so he could attend his daughter’s college graduation in Atlanta. Knicks assistant Darrell Walker missed last night’s game so he could attend his own college graduation yesterday at Arkansas after taking online courses to complete his degree. Walker played point guard at Arkansas from 1980-83 before being drafted in the first round by the Knicks. … Rasheed Wallace was out with a sore left foot, missing his third game this season with the same injury from his Detroit days. Woodson said Wallace likely will be dealing with it off and on all season. “He’s not 28, 29 years old,’’ Woodson said of the 38-year-old Wallace. “If he tells us he’s sore, we have to back off.