CLEVELAND — Carmelo Anthony went down and Amar’e Stoudemire rose up.
With Anthony aggravating a mysterious, nagging, right-knee injury in the second quarter, Mike Woodson was forced into playing Stoudemire past his 30-minute, team-imposed cap for the first time this season.
It was a desperate move and it worked splendidly. Stoudemire carried the Knicks from 22 points down in the second quarter and powered a thrilling 102-97 victory over the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena, playing a season-high 31:55.
As Anthony sat in the locker room, his immediate fate unknown, Stoudemire bagged 22 points, made 10 of 15 shots and looked like “The $100 Million Man’’ again. It was tied for the Knicks’ second-biggest comeback since 1991-92.
“I told you guys, whenever my number’s called I’ll be ready,’’ Stoudemire said in a giddy Knicks locker room. “Tonight I was ready.’’
A somber Anthony claimed the injury is not serious, although the medical staff still can’t determine why he’s been in discomfort for about two weeks. Anthony left the game midway through the second quarter after tripping over himself and landing hard when he tried to receive a Jason Kidd pass.
Melo, 1-of-5 at the time, walked off to the locker room with the club down 21 points with 6:42 left in the half and didn’t return.
Stoudemire came in for Anthony and the Knicks (36-21) exploded on a 10-0 run — the foundation for their comeback.
“When there’s a will, there’s a way,’’ Stoudemire said. “We willed out a win tonight.’’
Anthony said he doesn’t know if he’ll be ready for Detroit tomorrow; he’ll be reevaluated today.
“No, no. It’s definitely not serious,’’ Anthony said.
Anthony said an MRI exam was done two days ago and “came back great.’’ No new MRI is scheduled after manual tests last night revealed no ACL tear.
“I felt before the game I was like dragging my right leg,’’ Anthony said, adding “It’s nothing we can figure out at the moment.’’
Stoudemire looked as healthy as ever and he’s the one on the 30-minute plan because of bad knees. Not last night.
“We went over by a little, oops,’’ Mike Woodson cracked.
Stoudemire capped the big night, with a big game-sealing basket — spinning down the baseline, having his shot blocked, regaining and laying it in to put the Knicks up 99-95 with 42 seconds left. Stoudemire beat his chest running back downcourt.
The timing for Stoudemire couldn’t have been more precious. Stoudemire was benched for the final 7:52 in the Miami loss and Woodson was pilloried for it. Before the game, Woodson said it was vexing for him to figure out Stoudemire’s role under the 30-minute cap imposed by the medical staff but planned to increase his workload. And did he ever?
“I feel great,’’ Stoudemire said of the extra playing time. “I’ve been a competitor my whole career. I’ve had a lot of success in this league. It’s a matter of being ready when my number is called.’’
The Knicks got off to one of their worst defensive starts in recent memory, allowing Cleveland to hit 22 of its first 27 shots, allowing journeyman Marrese Speights to go 7-of-7 in the first quarter and 10-for-10 by halftime. The Cavaliers were shooting 81.5 percent midway through the second quarter as the Knicks were a sleepwalking disgrace, suffering from a Miami hangover.
“I was thinking about leaving the building,’’ Woodson said.
He would have missed a great comeback. Kidd was terrific, sinking a giant 3-pointer with 1:38 left to put the Knicks up 98-91 and grabbing a clutch offensive rebound with 6.3 seconds left, getting fouled. He made 1-of-2 free throws to make it a three-point game and Tyson Chandler sealed it with a block of Kyrie Irving at the 3-point line.
In an oddity, none of the five starters hit double figures, but four bench players did.
“Guys were gritty tonight,’’ Woodson said. “After we lost Melo, guys really started to fight. Amar’e was fantastic. We got him right at 31 minutes. We were just trying to time the minutes for him.’’
marc.berman@nypost.com